


Difficult to Extinguish

by DesChaos



Series: Difficult to Extinguish [1]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Casanova Grillby, F/M, Jealousy, Slow Burn, nsfw stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-09-18 03:22:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9365783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesChaos/pseuds/DesChaos
Summary: Grillby has decided to open a second bar in the Monster part of town to try to encourage more of his regulars to venture to the surface. Among the contractors that he worked with the one that catches his eye most is a carpenter named Scarmander. Will he be willing to give up his Casanova ways to pursue her or will her dark past and future plans dissuade him from being with his obsession?*Insert soap opera announcer voice and dramatic music when  you read this please*





	1. Chapter 1

Time in the Underground had been cruel and morphed the psychology of the monsters that had the pleasure of surviving their nearly one thousand year punishment. Before being locked away, cruelty wasn’t in the nature of a monster. They were filled with compassion and mercy, their morality shunning the idea of being filled with LV or EXP.

Majority of the monsters didn’t understand why they were banished. The humans had hunted down many species, completely exterminating them. Even when the monsters hid, assuming certain areas were safe or their ability to camouflage kept them hidden; during the future sweeps of areas they were found.

To save the monster race, King Asgore and Queen Toriel urged any remaining monsters to retreat to Mt. Ebott. The King led a group of the most powerful monsters, boss monsters, to fight against the humans while everyone else evacuated. This seemed to fuel the humans on. In the end, very few boss monsters survived the ordeal. The barrier was erected on the only known entrance where the monsters could escape easily.

Unlike the humans, the monsters didn’t forget the cruelty of being locked away. The constant dirt colored ‘sky’ being a reminder to all generations of the human’s actions. Although King Asgore, Queen Toriel, and Prince Asriel tried to make the living situation comfortable for all monsters, it was nearly impossible to stay the rage that was developing over time.

One day, Asriel was playing in the ruins and came upon a human child that had fallen through an unstable portion of ceiling. The child was injured, but didn’t seem to be in a life threatening condition. Concerned that if any other monster came upon the child they would be executed on the spot, the Prince brought his parents to avoid more bloodshed.

King Asgore and Queen Toriel were reluctant at first. They remember the cruelty that a single human could generate, that the child could be here to execute the remaining monsters. It concerned them more that the child had a red soul, a symbol of determination and a reminder of the mages they fought against. With Asriel’s hopeful stare at his parents, they showed the human the first semblance of mercy that had been available in the Underground for years.

Unlike the royal family, the other monsters were enraged that they would show mercy to a human. Although it was not directly the child’s fault for what had happened, the fear and rage drove the monsters to call for blood. The screams echoed in the halls of the castle as the monsters tried to plead for the King to listen to reason, yet everything fell on deaf ears.

When the child became sick from an unknown source, the royal family tried different manners of healing magic to try to cure them. They even called in Dr. Gaster, but as his specialty wasn’t humans there wasn’t much that could be done other than give the child something to make the passing more comfortable. The child refused the drugs, saying that dying wasn’t the greatest pain they had ever experienced.

Knowing their time was short; the child requested that Asriel use their soul to pursue peaceful negotiations with the humans above. Asriel wanted to please their friend, knowing this was their last request and just nodded his head between the tears as the child took their final breaths. The red soul emerging from the body, flickering and threatening to shatter and disappear if action was not taken quickly. Without much knowledge available to Asriel regarding merging a human soul with a monster soul, he touched it and felt the power surge and change his own into a more powerful being. Unable to ask his parents for advice he took the body with him as he went to the barrier. His now merged soul strong enough to pass through.

When the humans spotted Asriel, carrying a human child’s body, fear overwhelmed reason and they attacked. Despite having the power to destroy the humans, Asriel continued to show them mercy. His pleads for reason fell on deaf ears as the humans attacked him with crude weapons, bludgeoning and skewering his flesh until he retreated to the Underground.

Asgore was the only one there for the final moment of his son’s life. Holding him tightly in his arms, tears streaming down the kings face and mixing with his son’s newly forming ashes. There was no amount of healing that could save the Prince and soon his dust spread over the bed of golden flowers that used to be the playground for the Prince and the human.

Having lost not one child, but two, in the span of hours the King cursed the humans that drove them to the underground, kept them trapped there, and refused to show any semblance of mercy. Despite the Queen’s efforts to calm the King, he swore to himself and those in the underground that they would escape.

Hundreds of years passed. The world became more ruthless as the King strove to have the strongest monsters available when they were released from the underground. Collecting souls with the help of Gaster and Alphys creating containment capabilities until seven human souls were available. Every child that fell down into the Underground didn’t receive mercy. The King brutally slaughtering the children in much the same way Asriel passed.

The seventh human was different. Again a child with a red soul, they evaded the monsters of the underground, showing everyone they did meet mercy. They had the power to reset portions of the timeline they were alive for and worked towards getting everyone the best possible ending when they reached the surface. Despite everything the monsters had learned and thought, this child assured them that the surface world would offer tolerance, after all they had lived it numerous times now to be sure everything was perfect.

Finally the barrier was broken. The Monsters stepped into a world that had changed a lot over nearly a thousand years. Buildings were taller; the world was no longer ruled by monarchies. For those that didn’t go to the garbage dump the new world was overwhelming. Even for those that did go, there was a lot to learn.

To ease into society, classes were offered to educate humans and monsters about each other. Each was wary about the other, humans scared because the Underground had long been forgotten, monsters scared because humans had always been far stronger than them. Eventually a mutual understanding and tolerance began to take place.

Monsters weren’t considered human and the government didn’t provide them the same rights. They weren’t allowed to own property, receive health benefits, or be protected by the law. Many employers saw Monsters as a cheap form of labor, being able to be paid far below a minimum wage. Monster hate groups sprung up far more quickly than activist groups.

Weaker monsters retreated back to the Underground, the magic being used to create an anti-human barrier. The stronger monsters and boss monsters stayed above ground thanks to the pleading of the human child that promised things would get better. Getting better was an extremely slow progress that started with the creation of an embassy that had enough room for the few monsters that could survive to stay. The child worked tirelessly through their resets to try different avenues towards getting more rights for the monsters.

As time wore on there were more monster sympathizers. Many monsters started agreements with these people to get land purchased, businesses built, and have common necessities provided to them. Despite the unequal arrangements between the parties, with monsters being the clear benefactor in the deal, it did not change the fact that they were having to rely on human’s kindness and mercy… something they weren’t well known for.


	2. Chapter 2

Grillby had a human benefactor since he wasn’t able to apply for the permits on his own. The indigo flame monster despised having to rely on the human to achieve anything. Fortunately the human female he had chosen was easily influenced by his magic so there wasn’t much say from her. She was a puppet, and an easy one to control at that.

Above ground Grillby ran a highly regarded five star restaurant despite having only opened the doors two years after human benefactors became a thing. Every surface was meticulously polished to a shine before the shifts. Every booth and table had been created from handpicked Amazon Rosewood. It was an extremely rare wood, though not endangered, that had cost more than the restaurant itself. The individual that had picked the wood and crafted each piece by hand was extremely talented. Each chair, high-top, and table had delicate carvings in the legs though the subtle touches were lost by the soft light cast from the chandeliers overhead.

The chandeliers were made of glass and utilized a technique that was slowly becoming more mainstream. The process involved cutting and fusing the glass over and over again, sometimes thousands of times, to create perfectly designed facets in the glass. Each piece had the Theory of Fibonacci incorporated into it. There were very few lights in each chandelier but the facets caused a rainbow glow to settle across the darkly painted ceiling and walls. The humans often thought it was magic that caused everything to shine in such a unique manner; then again they were simple creatures with finite lives and couldn’t fully comprehend the splendor that was available.

Today was a normal day at his five star restaurant. A line of humans pushed past one another to enter the warmth of the lobby as they waited for their seats. Many of them had reservations and had booked them nearly as soon as the Grand Opening sign had gone up. Word of mouth and social media had caused the place to be a bigger hit than anything. Some of the humans weren’t even there for the food but for the novelty of being served by a monster.

Regardless of how busy the restaurant was there was always room for monsters to come in. No lines, no wait, no reservation needed. There were two tables close to the bar that always remained empty for anyone that dared to travel into the human part of town. Not many monsters had the ability to travel there without worry that they would be dusted by some anti-monster thug. Grillby was generous enough to comp every meal of a monster that made it through the doors, so far it was only Gaster. Despite the special treatment no human would dare speak up against it in fear of being permanently banned from the restaurant.

After finishing creating another round of drinks, Grillby idly polished a glass as he watched the waiters and waitresses scurry around the place. Even with the place being full all the time there was a loneliness that ached from being away from his own kind and serving them. The government had placed so many restrictions on human food and drink. No magic. None. Not even to light a drink on fire. On top of that he had to stop serving people if they appeared to get “too drunk”, though his definition was loosely based on Sans’ tolerance as he was the biggest lightweight in the Underground.

Placing the glass under the bar, he stretched and started mixing the next batch of drinks. There was no reason to demonstrate any flare. Many of the patrons were too engrossed in their silly ‘romantic’ concepts of their evenings, staring at one another and chatting away as they sipped from glasses of wine. For those that did watch the bar they didn’t need the entertainment since the concept of a flame monster handling a cold drink seemed to amuse them enough.

Lately he had been considering opening a second location within the “Monster” part of town. Not high class, but enough to make the other monsters feel more comfortable. By having a location closer to the others, he hoped to entice some more monsters to move to the surface.

He considered his options as his eyes roamed across his polished bar, the wood reflecting his flames perfectly. The dark blue eyes flickered as he formed more in depth concepts of the bar, booths, barstools, lighting… getting lost in his thought. It took a while for one of the servers to get his attention for another round of drinks that was being ordered.

Shaking his head, the flames cracking at his skull as pieces danced away and disappeared. A slow smirk played across his lips as he deftly made the next batch. Sure he would have to hire more people for his current location to man the bar and manage the employees, but he was excited by the forming idea in his mind. Tonight he would call the female benefactor and start the ball rolling, but for now he allowed himself to daydream between orders.


	3. Chapter 3

The human female was to come to the restaurant before opening to discuss his options for creating a second bar. Of course she was early, cheeks blushing and hair pulled back to expose as much flesh as possible. Grillby restrained himself from rolling his eyes; the concept of him being interested in her was laughable.

Sitting at one of the tables, he leaned forward with elbows on the dark wood. Peaking his fingertips under his chin as he watched her with his dark blue eyes. She was wearing clothing that was offseason, with a deep V cut shirt and skirt that barely came halfway up her thighs. It was the middle of winter. Again he reigned in the eye rolling and just allowed a placid smirk to play across his lips as if he liked what he saw.

“I would like to open a second location,” Grillby hissed in his crackling tone, wanting to end this visit as quickly as possible and to dissuade her from idle chitchat. This caused her to blink a couple of times as she considered what he was saying. “In the monster part of town.”

“I… Um…” obviously her mind stuttered around the concept. He was a first class monster and one of the few that wasn't constantly harassed by the regulation authorities trying to get him to close down by making things harder for him. “Why?”

Grillby blinked, this was the first time that she had ever questioned his decision. Leaning back in his chair he folded his arms across his chest, watching as her eyes shifted across the fabric that was pulled tight. He didn’t even bother answering her question.

Seeming to forget her original question she pressed forward in the conversation, “Do you have a location in mind?”

Reaching over to a neighboring table he grabbed a leather portfolio and handed it to her. She opened and glanced at the location. It was in the central part of the monster area and would be easily accessible to everyone there. Obviously humans wouldn’t be too welcome in the area and she tapped her finger across the back idly as she considered this.

“I would like to commission the same people that designed this place.” Knowing she would linger here as long as possible, he wanted to speed this up to get her working on what he wanted.

“Okay.”

“I want to work with them directly.” This statement made her raise her eyes from behind the portfolio and close it. That was an odd request from him since last time she had been the in between. There had been a lot of long days hanging out on location, just Grillby and her, as they went through every detail from color swatches to floor layout.

“Why?” Again her incessant questioning of his decisions. Perhaps he would need to use a little of his magic to persuade her to remain unquestioning.

“Monsters have special requirements,” He finished with a shrug. Getting to his feet he helped her from her chair, she wouldn’t leave otherwise. “Send them to that location this Sunday.” He mentioned with a nod towards the portfolio in her hands.

Her brow furrowed as if she wanted to say something. Obviously she wasn’t happy about the arrangement. She had worked with employers that hired monsters for the décor of the current location per his request. Perhaps she thought that if he had mentioned meeting here she could drop in but she didn’t say anything as she pulled on her jacket.

“Send me my schedule for the times they will be available.” Grillby mentioned as he walked her to the door, opening it to the winter chill outside. A shiver grasped her and he hoped it would spark some intelligence in her that next time to wear more weather appropriate clothing.

Nodding her head she exited to begin the conversations with people, folio under her arm. Later that evening Grillby received an e-mail from her detailing the appointments. He looked over them after the normal work shift and noted she blocked a huge part of time for the individual responsible for the wood work. Considering the amount of special requests he would be making regarding seating, this seemed fair. At the same time he was amused by the name ‘Scarmander’ having never met a monster with that name before and he was interested in figuring out who they were.


	4. Chapter 4

The benefactor, Julie, had worked hard the last couple of days and had already secured the location that Grillby had wanted. A cleaning crew came in on Saturday and had wiped down available surfaces, swept, and mopped the location. The building had been abandoned for a while, like much of the area that the Monsters had moved into.

Standing outside the building in his black tailored suit, Grillby pulled a drag from the cigarette as he observed the surroundings. There was graffiti on the outside walls, much of it unintelligible slang and poorly written sentences telling monsters that they weren’t welcome there. This was standard décor on all the buildings in the area, just like the many windows that were busted out and boarded up.

The smoke curled from the corner of his lips as his dark blue eyes went to the clouded sky. Where the new bar was located was in the heart of the Monster section. Many of the businesses were located on the street level and there were apartments above them. His building was no different and he watched the shadows of Monsters going about their early morning routines.

Snuffing out the butt of the cigarette under his polished shoe, he turned the key to the door. The pictures that had been available online of the interior were generous. Even with all the work the cleaners had put in the empty floor space had a lot of… potential. There were cracked and chipped tile on the floors, some of the walls had holes in them, and at least one window was busted out.

The smell was another thing. Being made of flames didn’t mean that Grillby was unable to smell; in fact he relied on scent heavily while cooking. Obviously there had to have been a leak at one point as the musty smell that hung in the air made his lips turn to a grimace. There were no obvious signs of the mold, and he wondered how the monsters living above the location had ignored it for so long. No matter he would need to hire someone to gut the walls and ensure there was no hidden damage before ridding the location of the smell.

Standing in the center of the room, he put his hands in his pockets and took the lay of the land while visualizing what he wanted. The space was about the same size and outlay, as his previous location Underground but it was completely empty. Across from the entrance there was a single door that led to the industrial kitchen. Running along the right side of the kitchen there was a narrow hallway that contained the two single stall restrooms and a door to the back alley where the garbage cans were located.

Open floor plans were a blessing and a curse. There was so much potential when it came to determining where to put the bar, the booths, and the chairs that it could get overwhelming. Grillby was lost in thought as his mind organized and reorganized the bar, wanting to put in a piano but not a grand piano, maybe a baby grand piano or a stand up piano in one corner. That would change all the seating though. His eyes were closed as he tried to visualize everything that it wasn’t until someone tugged on his jacket sleeve that he realized he had been standing still for several hours lost in his thoughts.

The creature beside him was his first appointment. Looking up to him with a sheepish smile, which was true cause the Monster was a sheep. They were there to discuss the kitchen equipment with him. It was a relief to see another Monster to work with and Grillby wished he had brought a folding table and chairs to sit down at.

With his thoughts reigned in, he began working with the suppliers’ one after the other. Interior design, entertainment schedules, suppliers for food and booze, lighting, kitchen supplies, the day dragged on and on with rarely a break between when one appointment ended and another began. He was sure Julie had done this to spite him since he wanted to work with everyone himself. It wasn’t until nearly the end of his packed schedule that he was able to go outside for another smoke.

Pulling one of the sticks from his half empty pack, Grillby placed it between his lips and used the tip of his right index finger to light the end. Inhaling lightly and exhaling through his nose, the feel of the smoke clinging to his lungs causing him to relax. Closing his eyes and using his left hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose as the throbbing headache pursued from the overexertion of his mind. This was too much to plan in a single day and he considered cancelling talking to the last person this evening and rescheduling.

His pounding headache drowned out the noise of a motorcycle that purred down the street and came to a stop in front of him. Pulling his hand from the bridge, he used the motion to take the cigarette out of his mouth and let out an exhale of smoke. His eyes attempting to focus as he sized up the motorcycle and the rider.

The motorcycle was a dark navy blue cruiser with a sculpted flowing design. The tank, seat and rear fender blended together to create this seamless design when looking at it from the side. When the rider got off, Grillby was able to admire the curves created by the bike much like the hourglass shape of a woman. He wasn’t normally one to admire human made machines like this but the polished silver reflecting his lavender flames beckoned him to ride.

Pulling his eyes from the motorcycle he eyed the rider. Dark full face helmet with a sun visor down despite it not being bright enough out to wear it. Leather riding jacket that seemed too large from how it bunched near the waist, their hands shoved into the large pockets. Obviously bipedal considering they were wearing blue jeans which had the cuffs tucked into the combat boots on their feet.

They didn’t say a word as they walked past Grillby and into the bar. Their shoulders hunched hiding the full height of their frame. Grillby pulled out his cellphone, having forgotten the cigarette that was in his left hand. Pressing the power button on the side and checking the time and his schedule. The being that walked past him had to be Scarmander, odd that they would have been driving around this part of town since he had chosen a central location for all monsters to walk to.

Tossing the smoldering cigarette on the ground, Grillby walked in after the being in time to see them pull off their helmet. Short, orange, yellow, and red colored faux hawk. It didn’t take long for him to realize that Scarmander was a human. He just stood there, stunned, as they removed the riding jacket showing an athletic but curvy frame. Under the jacket they wore a long sleeve, tight, black shirt with a band logo on the front that was partially faded away.

Turning to face him, his breath was caught as he took in their soul. Much like the chandeliers in his other location the soul appeared fractured and clear. Every color danced along the faceted surface. His eyes stared at their chest as he tried to figure out just what was the primary aspect of the soul that was hidden in there. It was almost like the soul was surrounded by crystal and refused to demonstrate the true color but shined with a brilliance all its own.

Obviously not amused by his staring, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Eyes up bucko.” Her voice was sharp, and a deep melody, almost boyish in nature. His eyes went from her soul to her face where a scowl set on her plump pink lips.

“I’m Scarmander… but you can call me Scar,” she walked forward and held her hand out to greet him. He couldn’t believe this. A human… female… was the one that had been responsible for the amazing woodworking that was in his other location. He would have thought this a joke if she didn’t look completely serious.

Taking a moment too long she dropped her hand and walked over to pick up her helmet. “Obviously not what you expected, I get that.” She tucked the helmet under her arm. Grillby was having a tough time finding his voice, but he wasn’t exactly a talkative one to begin with.

“If ya don’t want to work with me that’s fine. I get it. Young woman, human, I’ve heard all about your discrimination Grillby.” They released a huff of breath in an irritated snort, rolling her hazel colored eyes before preparing to walk past him again. She was a bit shorter than him, the top of her head coming to his nose. “Now if you want the best, I’m here… otherwise move an’ I’ll go.”

Grillby could see why her hair took on a flame like appearance, even if it was dyed that way; she was a bit of a firecracker. No nonsense. On top of that her work at his previous location, the handpicked wood for the bar, the sculpted tables, it was exactly what he wanted at his current location.

“Stay,” Was all he was able to get out as he reached out his hand to see if she would shake his. Looking down at his hand, she quirked her right brow before grasping it firmly.

“Alright then… let’s get to work.”


	5. Chapter 5

Pulling an iPad from one of the inner jacket pockets she stood in the middle of the room with him and opened an app. He looked over her shoulder as she snapped a few photos of the layout before opening a blank canvas. Grabbing the stylus attached to the back, her eyes snapped up to his.

“What are the dimensions?” There was no nonsense about her approach to this. He pulled a page from his back pocket and looked over the details of the place he had been given. There wasn’t any information regarding the size and he shrugged.

Rolling her eyes she opened another application on the tablet and started taking measurements, performing basic calculations to get the information she needed and transferred the information into the design template she had. Saving her progress, he would notice that she would do this religiously through the entire time they would work together.

“Okay…” She took a deep breath as she looked around the space, holding the tablet flat that way Grillby could see what she was doing. He hovered over her left shoulder, still catching glimpses at her puzzling soul and trying to remain focus on the task at hand.

“Where are you planning on putting the bar? Will I be building the shelving behind the bar?”

He pointed to the far wall where the door to the kitchen was. “That will be the bar. Yes you will be building the shelving.” She quickly input the information, drawing the bar size before holding up her iPad, it took a moment for him to realize she had a device attached to it that actually projected the dimensions of the bar on the wall.

“This size?” All he could do was nod his head. A lot of the technology that she was using he hadn’t even considered it being a possibility in the world. Over the course of the day she would project tables, booths, shelving, everything that he had in mind to ensure that it was the proper size.

Once basic furniture was decided for the layout, the design for his bar clearly displayed on her tablet, she let out a yawn. The time in the top right corner indicated that they had already been there working together for three hours as it was nearly 10 pm. Despite the time he wanted to keep working with her on the design. Her organized manner and ability to display everything made it much easier on his mind, many of the concepts he had shared with the other designers he was going to have to change based on the current outlay.

“I think this is a good stoppin’ point.” She looked up at him with a smile, the first one that he had seen that day. “Should I contact your handler to set up the next appointment with you?”

His handler, what a joke. Grillby reached into his right pants pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Tons of missed calls, text messages, voice mails, e-mails… all from his ‘handler’. Perhaps it bothered her that she couldn’t have some semblance of control in this situation, didn’t mean she had to react this way. A scowl crossed his lips and Scarmander stole a glance at the screen and let out a scoff.

“Geeze man… your woman is real worried about you being alone with me that long?” There was a chuckle and lightness to her voice that bubbled up. He rolled his eyes and swiped the phone open only to realize that all the messages were indeed after Scarmander had shown up. Talk about paranoid!

When he went to his calendar, he looked down at her as she swiped open the calendar on the iPad. There was a lot of blocked time on her calendar and of course he worked a lot as well since he was currently the only bartender at his other restaurant. They settled on the following week to meet up and continue the discussions regarding the bar.

Once everything was done, Scarmander tossed the iPad back into her jacket and pulled on her helmet. Grillby escorted her out, mostly because he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He watched as she unlocked the handle bars and started the bike to a roaring idle, allowing it to warm up. It wasn’t until he saw her hop on her bike and leave that he realized he had been smiling and that he had never bothered pulling out a cigarette.

**\--------------**

The week went by at a crawl, or at least it seemed that way to Grillby. He had received an e-mail from Julie with the PDF of the bar design that Scarmander and him had worked on together. It bothered him that he hadn’t even thought about asking for her direct contact information, and that Julie felt it necessary to continue to intercede between the two’s conversation.

On top of that Julie kept showing up at the restaurant before and after hours to discuss the plans with him. At first he took all of this in stride, figuring that because he was technically spending her money and it was her name on the agreement for the location that she had every right to know what was going on. Their conversations also remained strictly on the progress that was being made on everything, invoices that were starting to come in, and time frames for some of the monsters to come in to do work.

Still his mind would often drift to Scarmander and her soul. It was like a piece of cold worked glass. Cut thousands of times and laminated back together to create a dazzling design on the inside but with an outside smooth in appearance. There was no primary aspect color, the outside appearing like a clear crystal where the center just shown every color possible. It obsessed him, and he debated telling Gaster about the uniqueness, but wanted to make sure that happened AFTER he got the bar together.

Finally Sunday arrived and she was there as he walked towards her. She leaned against the wall with her helmet at her feet and iPad in her hands. In the bright sunlight her hair did look like a fire. The breeze playing with the short locks and making it flicker. For a moment he stopped, far enough away that she wouldn’t notice, and just watched her.

Despite being in the Monster part of town she appeared completely at ease. Unlike most humans, she didn’t pose a threat and everyone ignored her as they passed. It was an abnormal occurrence to have a human here, but it appeared so natural.

Just as Grillby took his next step, her eyes raised and she looked down the opposite side of the street before scanning back towards his direction. A dazzling grin came across her lips as she pushed off from the wall. “Oy, Grillby! Ya take forever!” She waved to him over her head. That smile, it made his heart skip a beat and caused him to walk just a little faster, eager to work with her once more.

**\-----------**

“What special requirements are needed for seating?” Scarmander mentioned as she sat cross legged on the ground. Grillby sat next to her with his long legs stretched out in front of him, hands at his sides. She set the iPad in her lap, stylus in one hand to allow her to write. Grillby was a bit fascinated by her shorthand as she made quick work writing what he was saying.

Seating for monsters was significantly different than humans. For humans it was pretty much one size fit most but with monsters she had to take into account what they were made of, their size, their weight, etcetera. Grillby tried his best to accommodate anyone that came into the bar but the list was getting unwieldy with all the requests.

“Perhaps it would be easier if we do something like this…” She pulled up the floor map and moved a bit closer to Grillby, her right shoulder pressing into his left side. The coolness from her body made him shiver as it was slightly cooler than his own body temperature. She didn’t seem to mind the difference as she set there.

“It would be too difficult to design one seat to meet all your requirements so I propose creating seating groups. You can easily move the chairs around in the center section of the bar, or the patrons can. Then use the booth seating along the outside as a catch all, kinda like what humans do,” she held up the iPad, showing the display and now it was colored to demonstrate different groups. “This would make it easier for me to pick types of wood and design.”

“Yeah… that makes sense.” Grillby nodded in agreement, disappointed as she pulled away and stood up. He leaned back, supporting his upper body weight with his palms as they anchored into the ground behind him.

Her eyes were going over a list, her finger making little check marks as she ensured the details were arranged. “Let’s see… I guess last thing to really discuss is what the bar is made of… of course it’s going to be wood but what kind.” Pupils flickered over to where the bar was going to be, narrowing slightly in thought as if she were trying to visualize what would be most suitable to Grillby’s taste.

Tapping her right toe on the ground, she bit the corner of her lip. A few more moments passed, Grillby took the time to stand up next to her. The entire time he had been using his magic, trying to get her to sit back down close to him, but for some reason his magic just couldn’t reach her soul. It was curious, no woman had been able to resist before.

“Perhaps it would be best if ya came to the warehouse and helped me pick. You ‘ave a better idea as to the lightning, flooring, and whatnot. Hmmm…” She was talking as if he wasn’t even there. Finally she turned to him and gave a step back in surprise, having been so lost in thought that his standing next to her gave her a start. A laugh came from her lips as she realized the silliness of being scared, settling back into her relaxed stance.

Something felt off to Grillby. The entire time she had been here it was different than the first time. When she had initially started working with him there was a tenseness about her, her curt responses as she worked through the design plans with him. It was completely different than what he was seeing now, happy… smiling… relaxed.

Normally a human wouldn’t have intrigued him like this. Between her soul and the quick switch of behavior it was as if he was staring at an ever shifting puzzle, impossible to fully solve. He decided against provoking her since they still had a lot of work to do together by asking why she was so different. “I would appreciate the choice.”

“Alright… ‘ere… give me yer phone.” She held out her hand and he surrendered the phone to her after unlocking it. He watched as she typed in a phone number and hit send. A buzzing noise came from her back pocket and she quickly hung up before it went to voice mail. “Text me when yer available, I work at my workshop next to the warehouse so anytime is good except Wednesday and Saturday.”

Taking the phone back from her, he nodded his head. Only then did he notice the time on the phone, 5 pm. They had been there since 10am and hadn’t taken a break for lunch. He looked up at her after saving her phone number into his contacts, but she already had her helmet in her hands.

“Do you want to get dinner?” Normally he wouldn’t have asked but he had kept her there all day.

There was a flicker of a grimace across her face before a placid smile formed. “Umm… nah… I gotta go. Thanks though.” With that she disappeared out the door and left Grillby to face the fact that he… the hottest guy of the Underground… that no woman had said no to before when asked to dinner… had been rejected.


	6. Chapter 6

Scarmander. The name was bright on his phone screen as he sat on the edge of his bed the following morning. His finger hovered over the text message icon. It was less than 24 hours since they last were together and the dream he had last night had been so vivid. That scowl plagued his dreams. It hadn’t been like he had asked her on a date; it had been nothing romantic when he had offered to take her dinner. Was it because he was a monster?

Pressing his finger against the yellow messenger app he tried to figure out what he could type. The flames that made his body flickered, casting shadows across his flats bedroom. It was rare he slept with any clothing on, today wasn’t an exception. Tapping the side of his phone with his forefinger he ran over different scenarios in his mind.

Normally Julie handled all this for him. What should he say? Why was it difficult to just write a message? Eventually he got frustrated and tossed his phone on the bed next to him, the message app staying open as the phone laid screen down.

Pushing his fingers into the plush goldenrod colored Egyptian cotton sheets, he used the leverage to get up and go about his day. The closet was full of pressed black button up shirts, black slacks, black vests… black… black… black. For some reason today he wanted to wear color and he didn’t even have the option to do so. Frustrated he settled on his normal attire and went to go work on some new menu items in the restaurant. The phone remained abandoned in his room.

\--------------------

Days passed and Grillby still couldn’t bring himself to contact Scarmander. There was something inside him that was holding him back and he couldn’t put a finger on it. Was it the rejection? The grimace? It wasn’t from the lack of his magic working, he had tested it on another human being a few days after noticing his magic wasn’t working on Scar, the damn test woman had nearly jumped him at the restaurant.

Shaking his head, he exited the message app for the hundredth time that day. Opening up his e-mail on his phone, he started to compose a message to Julie.

_Julie,_ _Arrange another meeting with Scarmander at her workshop to discuss wood options. Grillby_

He knew he was opening up an avenue for Julie to tag along. At this point he didn’t care; he needed to get these meetings with Scarmander scheduled somehow. Hitting the send button, he placed the phone on the nightstand before getting to his feet to start his day.

It startled him when not more than 15 minutes after the message had been sent that his phone lit up indicating he had a new e-mail message waiting for him. His eagerness was unlike him and he hastily closed the distance between the closet and the nightstand within a few longer strides.

_She says she won’t meet you until you arrange the meeting yourself. I can go in your place; I know where the workshop is. Julie_

Narrowing his eyes at the screen he was irked by the response from Scarmander. Grillby was sure that there was more colorful language she had used but Julie was being kind enough to tone down the response. Hovering his finger over the reply button he let out a hissing sigh of breath before closing out of it and opening the messaging app.

Again he stared at the blank message screen with the name Scarmander across the top. His mind as blank as the text conversation that lit up the room. Tapping his finger across the side he sighed before going to a generic greeting.

*Hey, this is Grillby.

Watching the screen, he didn’t anticipate an answer back so quickly but apparently she had been waiting for the message to come across. Would make sense considering Julie had just contacted her on Grillby’s behalf.

*Finally. I was wondering if you had forgotten we need to set up an appointment.

*I’ve been busy.

He could almost feel her eyes roll through the screen. The next text message coming across much later, almost as if she had to keep rewriting to make sure her message was clear enough.

*Does Thursday morning work for you? I would like to get started on this project.

All business. That made sense though since technically this was supposed to just be a business transaction.

*That works.

The next message that came across was an address. Her address. Followed by the brief message of ‘see you at 11am’.

His fingers felt numb as they flickered. The excitement tingling up his arms and causing a dark flush to pass over his cheeks. Taking a few deep breaths he entered the appointment into his calendar, setting a 2 hour reminder to make sure he was awake in time. Two days and counting…

\-------------------

Tuesday and Wednesday passed extremely slowly for Grillby. His eyes would often flicker to his phone calendar reminder, making sure it was still set properly. He wasn’t sure if he was excited to see her or to gaze upon that soul again. It was extremely captivating and the current obsession of his dreams.

Waking early on Thursday wasn’t the chore he had anticipated, especially since he had a rough time getting to sleep on Wednesday and had checked his alarms until well into the early morning hours. He decided to dress more casual that day, having purchased more clothing after noticing the monotony of his wardrobe last time. This time he opted to wear a dark blue dress shirt and black slacks. Running his fingers over his lavender flamed locks as he looked in the mirror. There was no tiredness in his eyes, he actually felt well rested for once.

Grabbing his jacket from the coat hanger near the door, he snatched the keys from the countertop and took off to get to her place in time. It wasn’t until he had keyed the address in the GPS that he realized just how far out of town she lived. Part of him was glad he woke up before the alarm had gone off, and part of him cursed the fact that he hadn’t done proper research before.

The black Audi R8 pulling from his parking spot as he took off along the roads, clipping at a good speed and fortunate that there were no cops out this early in the morning. It wasn’t long until he left the gray slabs of concrete that made the large city and was passing green fields with barb wired fences to keep in cattle. Large trees randomly scattered across the landscape, the looming shadow of Mt. Ebott in the distance, it was eerie and beautiful all in the same glance.

“In 0.5 miles, turn right.” The GPS pulled Grillby from his dazed observation of the world around him. It had already been an hour and a half driving out of the city. Looking to the right there were a set of large buildings and one smaller one. That must be the place.

Fortunately for his car the roads were paved. The driveway he turned into ending in front of a small home that barely looked much larger than his apartment. Getting from his car, he knocked on the door only to be greeted by a rather roughed up looking Scarmander. His eyes took in her appearance with a bit of concern; she was wearing a black tank top that exposed her black bra straps. There was a large purple bruise on her right arm, as if she had been slammed against a wall. Of course she was wearing her standard blue jeans and combat boots. Stepping outside she locked the door and was nose to chest with Grillby.

“’Scuse me,” she grumbled, making Grillby step back. This attitude that radiated off her was the same he met on the Sunday when he had first commissioned the work from her. Perhaps she wasn’t a morning person, or perhaps there was a different reason.

Her stride was long as she crossed over the field towards the larger barn behind her home. Grillby nearly had to double his pace to keep up with her.

“Rough night?” He said, trying to get her commit to some level of small talk before they reached the large metal doors.

“Ya could say that…” She chuckled out under her breath before sighing and running her fingers across the deep bruise. His eyes glanced over it again, a flinch coming from her as if just his gaze had caused her pain. Withdrawing her fingers, she returned to her brisk pace. Part of him wanted to offer to fix her arm, but there was a strict ban against monsters using magic against humans, even if it would benefit them.

“’ere we are…” her voice was lazy and she often skipped over the beginning of her sentences when she was tired, or at least that was what he attributed it to. Her fingers digging out a ring of keys from her pocket before fiddling with the padlock. When the doors opened, Grillby’s mouth dropped.

The warehouse was much larger than it appeared on the outside. Rows and rows of shelving all containing different kinds of wood. He could smell the freshness of the pieces as the doors opened, assaulting his nose and making his flames crackle. It seemed to rejuvenate Scarmander, her eyes closed as she took in the scent of the warehouse, a soft moan coming from the back of her throat. Grillby could suppose this was a daily ritual with her that she was sharing with him.

Stepping inside, she ran her fingers across one of the metal beams that held the shelving units. It was almost intimate how she looked about at the specimens she had hand selected over the years. For a moment her soul showed pink through the crystal, making Grillby squint to see the subtle fissures that covered the surface. It was just for a moment and quickly faded as she turned back to him, her eyes shining with the sunlight across her face.

“Let’s look around shall we? If ya find anything ya like let me know.”

\-------------------------

The majority of the afternoon was spent perusing the large warehouse. Scarmander came up with excellent suggestions of wood types that would be cohesive towards the design of the bar. He learned that the labels under each shelf that held the wood was the name of the person Scarmander had to contact to get more and the price it cost per square foot. This didn’t include the cost of her actually working the material, but he noticed that she didn’t charge more for the wood than what she paid for it.

Despite him saying cost was no deterrent, she had kept in mind that he was trying to furnish an entire bar with her work. As she spoke about the wood it was obvious she had a great passion for her work, her fingers rubbing across the grain of a particular piece as she looked at it with such a tenderness that Grillby craved she look the same at him.

At one point he wandered to the area further back, the shelves were more barren and the prices weren’t listed. Scarmander seemed a bit nervous as he walked along the shelves and eyed the pieces of wood. Finally coming to one piece where even he could admire the grain, there were a couple of larger red knots in the wood which were formed from live branches that had been part of the tree when it was cut down. There was no information under the piece, but it was wide and long enough to be the bar top.

Reaching out, his fingers gingerly played with one of the knots. Concentrated to ensure he didn’t scorch the surface with his flames. He could see himself standing behind the piece of maple, polishing over the smooth surface as the monsters in the bar drank and talked like they had in the underground. “How much?”

It didn’t take much to notice the tension of Scarmander as she stood next to him. Her hands balled in fists as she looked at the piece of wood with a tinge of worry across her features. “I… I can’t…” Her voice was a gentle mumble, so much unlike her that it caused Grillby to jerk his fingers back from the wood as if it had snapped at him.

“Ya have to understand… that wood is extremely rare and I wanted to use it for something very special. It comes from a forest that no person is normally allowed to cut trees down in.” Her eyes were still staring at the large board, her eyes running across the knots and the grain from one end to the other. It was almost as if she were looking for an alternative answer to what she was giving him.

Once again Grillby could notice her soul flickering behind the fissures. Reaching out he touched her shoulder, pulling her from her train of thought. Her eyes flickering up to his, reluctant to release their gaze on the piece of wood. He wanted to assure her that it would be alright but something about the frailty of the situation caused him to push his magic into those crevices of her soul.

“Don’t you want your customer to be happy?” His voice was a soft crackling purr as he looked at her. He was used to getting his way that he knew what buttons to push. For a moment his magic seemed to work, a nod coming from her head before she blinked, grabbing his hand from her shoulder and taking a step away.

“I’ll see what I can do… But I’m not promising anything. I need to talk to my supplier and see if I can restock before I give this piece up.” There was defiance in her voice as she turned on her heel and started to walk away again at her quick pace.

This was the first time his magic had worked on her in any kind of capacity. Something about how the diamond encasing was fractured had caused a moment of weakness in her. This was interesting… very interesting indeed. Taking one last glance down at the piece of wood, his fingers graced over the red knot once more and a smirk played across his face. Perhaps she wasn’t as impenetrable as he had originally thought.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days had passed before Grillby woke up to the green light flashing in the upper left corner of his cell phone. Groaning, he pressed the power button and saw the text message sender’s name. Scarmander. And there was more than one message from her.

Blinking, he shifted his arm on the bed from under the random woman he had taken home that night. Lately because of his interaction with Scarmander he had been feeling a bit inadequate in the magic department. After the encounter selecting wood he had to know that the problem wasn’t him but was her strange defense. Obviously from the steady breathing next to him, the issue wasn’t his magic but her defense.

Opening the message app, his eyes skimmed over the text from her.

*Supplier says he can get me more so the piece is yours.

*Will be starting work on everything tomorrow and have it done in about three months. If you have any changes now would be the time to tell me.

Three months. The time frame seemed extremely long and extremely short all the same. Pressing the power button on the side made the phone go into sleep mode just as a soft purr came from the cat monster that lay next to him.

“Ready for another go?” He chuckled before tossing the phone aside; he would worry about that later.

\----------------

Messages between Scarmander and Grillby were strictly professional. Grillby tried to elude towards more but magic didn’t translate over cell phone messages, and Scarmander just ignored his advances. During one of their late night conversations while there was a lull at the bar, Scar mentioned that he was welcome to come observe her progress anytime. By now it was too late to make changes to the design, but she hadn’t started the bar yet and would need help with it. When Grillby had mentioned this to Julie she seemed taken aback as this wasn’t something normal for the reclusive artist.

Taking advantage of the invitation, Grillby showed up at her door two weeks after selecting the wood with her for a progress check-up. Or so he convinced himself. It was mid-afternoon when he arrived and knocked on the door to not receive an answer. The sound of power tools drifting over the grass from the building next to the wood warehouse.

Advancing on the large steel doors, he noticed that they were open enough to allow the light to cross the threshold. His eyes peering through the crack and seeing her wearing a long sleeve shirt, a mask and goggles, and holding a drill in her hand. She was working on one of the larger booth tables that he had ordered, he could tell by the wood.

Sweat glistened on her forehead as she worked away, putting together the pieces that she had previously cut. Even without being able to see her mouth he could tell she was smiling, it was evident in her eyes. It was obvious that she loved her work and he couldn’t help but peer in through the door for longer than was naturally appropriate for anything but a peeping tom.

Reaching through the crack he slid the metal doors open with a creaking sound. Her eyes going to the door and he could swear her smile got even larger when she noticed who it was. Putting the tool down beside her, she pulled down the dusty mask and waved. “Hey Grillby. Come to see the progress?”

The woodchips that rested in her hair, that smile on her face, the sweat causing the dirt to bunch in small areas across her forehead. Why was such a woman so intriguing to him? All he could do to answer her was nod his head before crossing over into what was her territory.

Pride exuded from her as she walked to the wall on the west side, sliding apart two doors effortlessly. While she walked Grillby took the moment to observe the rest of the workshop. There were two steel doors on the south side; he had entered from the north. The doors had a large menacing padlock on them. The east side of the building was covered in hand tools and outlets for the power tools. Drawing his attention to the doors she had opened he was amazed at the progress she had made. Much of the booths were already created with the details etched into the sides by hand. The wood polished smooth and glazed.

His fingers rubbed across one of the tables, lost in thought. It had only been two weeks and she had already gotten so much work done. “I meant to tell ya I need to update my time frame. I’ll be done far earlier. I’ve been really inspired lately.” Her voice was soft as she stood next to him. A grin across her face, obviously she had wiped her forehead clear of the sweat since it was now smudged.

“That’s… that’s great…” he mumbled as he tried to contain his disappointment that she was so quick with her work. It seemed to completely skip past her since she was beaming at him and he looked at her with a smile of his own. Going forward her would need to see her progress more often, but at the same time he had the bar to tend to and the restaurant to run. The war between responsibilities and interests waged within him as he stood next to her.


	8. Chapter 8

Interests won. The following morning he woke up early and drove the nearly two hour distance to see her. Knocking on her door and watching it creek open. The face behind it just one glowering eye as she looked up at the individual intruding on her sleep.

“It’s before 10…” the voice grumbled out as she slowly opened the door a little more seeing who it was. Grillby was a bit shocked to see her wearing a peach nightgown that came to her knees. Her bare feet perfectly manicured and her hair a fluffy mess from sleep. “What you want…”

Obviously she was not a morning person and he regretted coming without forewarning to the irritable woman. “I wanted to see the progress?” His voice was an unsure question as he gave a shrug.

Scar’s eyes narrowed, causing creases to form on the outside in irritation. “Not much diff’rent than yesterday…” She grumbled before opening the door the rest of the way and waving for him to enter. Grillby took a step inside, taking off his shoes and hearing the door snap closed behind him.

The main entry way led directly into her living room that was deceptively large. The long walls adorn with pictures and paintings of her with friends wearing helmets, kneepads, and elbow pads. A black loveseat sitting over a white fluffy rug pressed against the wall. The coffee table had been handmade by her, a glass top covering two segmented squares to make smaller ones, each holding a small treasure in it with a label that had the date and location. On the far side of the room were two bay windows, but what took Grillby’s breath away was the large grand piano that stood below a vaulted ceiling near the windows. The ceiling shape was designed to carry the sound into her home. He hardly noticed the TV that was sunk into the wall across from the couch or the breakfast bar on his left that led into the kitchen.

“Coffee?” Scarmander mentioned from the other side of the breakfast bar, popping a K-cup into the Kurieg that sat on top of the counter before hitting the ‘start’ button on her own cup.

“No thanks.” Grillby sat down on the couch. It was surprisingly comfortable and pretty long to only seat two people. He noticed that she didn’t have any other table or chairs in the room, so she must live alone.

Watching her shuffle back into the room, she took a seat on the far end of the sofa and sipped at her coffee. Her eyes closed as she allowed for the caffeine to rejuvenate her like nothing else could. Even in her sleepy state Grillby noticed her crystalline defensive structure was encasing her soul.

“From now on… not before ten…” she chided him as a smile tried to cross her lips, “unless you’re bringing breakfast.” With that she went back to the slow sipping as Grillby nodded his head. It wasn’t particularly early; the clock barely striking 9am when he arrived. Then again he understood her reluctance towards being awake at this time since he was also a night owl.

“So what are all these pictures?” He pointed to the wall behind them, trying to distract her from the early time.

“Mmm… most of them are me and my team, the Rising Phoenixes. We have our jams on Wednesdays and Saturdays.” Again there was that smile Grillby liked to provoke onto her lips. Her eyes going to the pictures of them in various stages of a jam, eyes lingering on a picture of her in the center with two girls on either side all laughing as they won their first ever match.

“Which explains why you don’t see anyone on Wednesday and Saturday,” Grillby whispered as if thinking mostly to himself. Remembering back to a previous Thursday when she had that bruise on her body, it had taken a while to heal without magic.

“Yeah, we tend to have to travel a lot for our matches so I take those days off. I also practice every night with them… which is why no coming here before 10am next time.” Grillby wondered just how brutal the sport was that caused such frequent injuries. Still he nodded to indicate he understood the time restriction she was placing and the reasoning behind it.

Grillby sunk more into the arm of the couch as he watched her. Her knees were brought to her chest and she would rest her cup on the peak of her knees before going to take another sip. Of course her legs blocked the view of what was under her nightgown but Grillby still tried to steal a look anyways.

Once finished with the cup she set it down on a coaster. Getting to her feet and raising her arms high into the air, getting to her tip toes and stretching her body before looking at him on the couch. “I’mma get changed… you stay here. Then we can get to work.”

Before she could say more, or he could respond, she walked off down the brief hallway and entered the second door on the right. He didn’t bother getting up from where he sat, assuming it would take her a while. Instead he noticed a photo album on the shelf under the coffee table and pulled it out.

It was older, with yellowing pages that held the photos between laminated sheets. He flipped through the pictures of a young girl with dark brown hair and hazel eyes until he fell onto a family portrait. Not a single person in the photograph was smiling. A woman in her late forties sat in the only chair with the small girl on her lap. Six young men of various ages stood around the stern looking mother. A seventh man standing beside the woman’s chair looking about equal age. They all had the same features, dark brown hair… hazel eyes.

Before he could look at the photo for much longer the book snapped closed in his hands with the assistance of Scarmander. She had the same serious expression on her face as the people in the photo. Not a word spoken as she took the book from him and went back down the hall to put it away.

Grillby was left there, blinking, his hands open and palms up as if he were still holding the photo album. Had he done something he shouldn’t have? How would he have known? Who were those people in the picture? He figured now wouldn’t be the time to ask Scarmander as she came back down the hall and gave him a pained half smile.

“Let’s get to work shall we?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note from the author: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T REMOVE YOUR CAST YOURSELF!!!!

Heading to Scarmander’s previous warning, Grillby never arrived again before 10:00am. He didn’t even bother tempting fate as he would sit out in his car waiting for the final minutes to tick down before going to her door. Today was Thursday, nearly three days since his intrusion on her morning cycle.

Knocking on the door, he waited patiently as he heard the heavy boot steps on the other side. Opening the door, his eyes immediately went to the bright pink cast on her arm. Blinking a couple of times before seeing her sheepish expression and how she dug one of her toes into the ground behind her.

“What the hell happened?” Grillby was equal parts infuriated that she would damage herself when they were working together on the seating for his bar and relieved that this would cause a delay in their work.

A soft laugh came from her lips as she scratched the back of her head with her good left arm. “I didn’t fall correctly… but we won?” She gave a little shrug before stepping out into the morning daylight, closing the door firmly behind her. Grillby immediately took a step back to allow her more room.

“You can’t seriously hope to work with your arm in that condition.” He was skeptical that she would be able to do much of anything with a cast. From what he had seen previously when she had just worked with bruises she tended to move more gingerly and it took longer. He couldn’t imagine the slow down when she had a cast.

“Of course not. I have my amazing assistant here to help me.” She mentioned as he immediately allowed his brows to furrow at the statement. Assistant? He had never seen another being anywhere near her property and now she had an assistant?

“Why you lookin confused there Grillby?” She tilted her head to one side before they started walking towards the workshop.

“What assistant?” Deep down he wanted to refuse any work that wasn’t done by her. He had commissioned her to do the work after all, not some second rate carpenter.

“You.”

“Wait… what?” This statement made him completely freeze, the still fresh dew on the grass soaking into his black ironed slacks.

A laugh came from her lips as she turned to face him, “Come on… you can at least assemble some of the pieces I’ve already crafted.”

One of his brows rose at her. Had the impact she sustained to cause damage to her arm also damaged her brain? There was no way in the seven circles of hell that he was going to be able to do anything of the sort.

After a few more of her steps, she realized he was no longer following and turned around to see what the holdup was. Observing his reluctant stance, she walked over to him, the once jovial expression turning to a frown. “I guess it was a bit early huh? How about you perform some of your magic and heal me instead? I can make it up to you.”

The suggestion of magic coming from a human was taboo; still Grillby figured it was a lot better than him doing the actual woodworking himself. Reaching out he took the cast gingerly in his fingers, prodding slightly with his magic to see the damage. Her body seemed reluctant to allow him to do anything, perhaps a side effect of how her soul was. He looked up at her; her eyes were on the flames of the cast.

“I need you to relax,” he guided softly. With that she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. He watched as with each breath his magic was able to intrude into her flesh a little more, allowing for the healing magic to start binding bone to bone quicker than natural. Her arm glowing green from fingertips to shoulder since it was difficult for him to heal something without immediate contact to the flesh.

Once complete, he released her arm. Only then did she open her eyes and look down at the casted arm. Wiggling her fingers and looking up at him. “Thanks.” There was a flush on her cheeks and Grillby smiled back at her nodding his head.

When they went into the workshop she contemplated near her power tools what would be best to remove the cast with. Grillby was a bit nervous as she went to grab one of the power tools, knowing full well she wasn’t as steady with her left hand as her right. She just tried to assure him that she couldn’t harm herself, and even if she did he could heal her again right?

Still she grabbed a Dremel tool with a part 246 blade that was able to cut plastic or metal. Grinning as she turned on the tool, listening to the whirl of the blade. Grillby was nervous and hovered behind her as she set her arm on the workbench and started to cut through the fiberglass of the cast. He was amazed at her deft work of the tool with her non-dominate hand. Once both sides were cut she pulled them apart and freed her arm.

“See… perfectly okay.” She wiggled her freed fingers up to Grillby so he could see that she was completely uninjured. Only then did he start to breathe easy and exit the building so that he could smoke. He cursed the gods silently as he lit his smoke, taking a drag from it to calm his nerves. Knowing she was out of danger and he didn’t have to use his magic anymore, he grumbled and cursed her dedication for her craft.

“Hey Grillby… I didn’t mean to upset you. Thanks for healing me.” He didn’t even notice that she was standing there next to him outside. Nodding his head curtly in response, she took that as a cue to exit and went to go back into the building. “Why doncha stay for dinner tonight? I’m sure that will make it worth the effort since you keep hinting towards wanting to feed me anyways.”

Blinking, he was taken off guard with that one. A smirk playing across his lips before a more enthusiastic nod bobbed his head. From the corner of his eye, he could see the smile come across her lips again before she went back into the workshop to begin her daily work. What he would have given for it to be dinner time already.

Snuffing out the cigarette under his shoe, he followed her into the workshop to talk while she worked. This time she asked him questions about his bar underground and his normal patrons. Every time he told a story about Sans and his trickery he would catch her trying to conceal her laughter.

“It can’t be that bad,” she wheezed out behind her mask as she had to stop drilling to allow herself to laugh.

“You haven’t met the guy. It’s absolutely disgusting to watch him defile my cooking with the outrageous amount of mustard he puts on everything!” Grillby clenched one of his fists as he remembers the nightly patron.

“Got it… no defiling your cooking with mustard,” she laughed again before getting back to work drilling some holes into the tabletops. Slowly he unclenched his fingers as he realized she implied actually possibly eating his cooking in the future.

“Just as you take your craft very seriously I take mine,” he leaned over to watch her working on the ground. She bobbed her head in agreement without removing her concentration from her work.

There was a slight pause as she muttered aloud “I thought your craft was mixing drinks. Don’t tell me he…”

“Drinks the stuff? Yeah… that too.” Grillby watched as a shiver ran up her spine and he could almost see the displeased grimace on her face under her mask and her nose wrinkling at the thought. She shook her head as if trying to rid herself of the foul image before getting back to her work.

Very little was spoken after that, she didn’t generally talk about herself when she was working. She took this time to learn things about him, listening to his stories and about his patrons. He would notice that a lot of what he mentioned to her she would incorporate into the designs that graced the edges of the table.

When he spoke about the dog guard that would come into play cards she paused from her work and pulled down the mask. Sitting on her rear next to the table and paying careful attention to the story.

“How many of them are there?” Her inquisitive eyes narrowed as if thinking about something.

“It ranges depending if Dogamy and Dogaressa actually come in. So normally there are either six or eight of them.” He thought to himself, crossing his arms over his chest and wondering why the sudden interest. Perhaps she was just a dog person, but the dogs of the Underground weren’t like the domesticated dogs up here.

“Hmm…” Immediately she got to her feet and walked over to the workbench, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. Going about drawing a rough sketch quickly before writing down a couple of details in the margin. Only when the draft was done did she thrust it at Grillby as if to get his approval.

It was a bit confusing to decipher her drawing but he realized the ingenuity of it immediately. The table actually started out smaller, to accommodate a smaller group but the top could be rotated and as rotated sleeves would actually come up and click into place to allow it to grow and accommodate a larger group. Blinking, he couldn’t believe that something like this could really exist and he looked at her as she tilted her head

“Well? It would take me a little bit since I have to think about how the gears would work… but I think it could save you from needing an unnecessarily large table to accommodate the ‘maybe’ group.” Her arms were crossed over her chest as if steeling herself against any form of rejection that might come from Grillby.

“This is… this is brilliant.” He couldn’t contain his awe as he looked back down at the rough draft. “Can I have a couple of these tables?”

She hummed in thought before nodding her head, as if making calculations in her mind before committing to anything. “Yeah. I don’t see why not. We might have to remove a couple of smaller tables but I think it would be okay.” Going back to the workbench and pulling out another sheet of paper before crudely drawing down the bar and trying to visualize what it would look like with two of the tables. Tapping her foot as she nodded her head in agreement with an unspoken statement. “Yeah… I can make it work.”


	10. Chapter 10

With newfound vigor she threw herself into her work, trying to get a lot of the smaller tables done that way the new additions wouldn’t delay the timeline that was already slipping. Grillby appreciated her enthusiasm but really was reluctant to have her work so hard. Still he stood by her side and provided her tools as she worked mercilessly under his watchful gaze. Time slipping by far more quickly for her than for himself. It wasn’t until the sleepy departure of the suns light from between the cracked workshop doors that he dared to look at the time.

Before he could even state that it was a little after six there was a grumble that came from her stomach. Scarmander blinked as she sat back on her heels and placed a hand on her stomach before looking up at him. “What time is it?”

“A little after six.” Grillby mentioned as he turned the face of his cell phone around so she could see the time herself. She seemed a bit perplexed by this, having worked straight through lunch and well into her dinner preparation time. Getting to her feet, she stumbled a bit and grabbed the workbench to steady herself, kicking her toes against the ground to wake up her legs a little more.

“I tend to get a bit carried away…” she chuckled before pulling her mask off and tossing it in the trash on her way out. Rubbing her head furiously and causing wood shavings to fall onto her shirt and the ground. The entire time Grillby just followed her, remembering her promise of dinner as payment for the healing earlier that day.

Walking into her home, she tugged off her shoes at the entry way before taking a few steps further in. Grillby followed suit, removing his shoes and leaving them at the door. She was already in the entry way to the kitchen where there was a glowing blue pad under her fingertips on the wall. He hadn’t noticed it before but was completely amazed as a large cylinder the height of the room came out of the floor. There were rows upon rows of wine bottles and he couldn’t believe that she actually had a wine cellar.

“Why don’t you pick out the wine? We’ll be having filet mignon tonight with a balsamic vinaigrette reduction and goat cheese crumble.” Leaving the controls, she went deeper into the kitchen to pull the meat out of the fridge, setting it on the counter on a cookie sheet before getting to work behind her stove.

Grillby couldn’t help but marvel at how high tech everything was in her kitchen. The stove being the only thing seemingly out of place in the modern kitchen. It was a four burner double-over O’Keefe & Merritt stove. It even had a griddle in the middle. Obviously she took good care of it since there were no chips in the enamel or rust in the chrome. Grillby ignored the wine as he went to the 1930’s stove. Running his lavender fingers across the mint green colored top.

Chuckling, she placed one of her saucepans on a burner to begin the reduction. This action seemed to snap Grillby out of his reverence of her stove. “This was just the one thing I couldn’t give up. I like cooking over an actual fire and the double oven has been extremely useful when my friends come over.” There was a smile on her face as she pointed to the wine selection again. “Now if you don’t mind, the steak won’t take that long so I would love a glass to enjoy cooking with.”

Getting the hint, he retreated to the wine selection and started to peruse the bottles. There was everything from extremely cheap to outrageously expensive. He knew that not all the time did the most expensive bottle pair the best and decided to pull a bottle of 1000 Stories zinfandel. Before he could even take a step there were a corkscrew and two wine glasses being offered.

“Excellent choice.” She praised before getting back to work on the reduction. There was something about how she stood over the saucepan, one hand on her hip, the other stirring slowly and checking the consistency that made Grillby feel tightness in his pants. No one had ever cooked for the chef before, perhaps too intimidated by the foodie to dare insult his palette. Watching her though, he could see the care she was putting into the meal and he doubted he would find any complaint with it.

Handing her the glass, he went to the other side of the breakfast bar and stood there, sipping his own glass. It took her about twenty minutes to cook the meat, allowing the goat cheese to brown slightly on the top under the broiler before plating his meal and her own. In all she had made him a steak, mashed potatoes, and carrots, everything artistically designed on the plate. He couldn’t help but wonder if at some point in her life she had taken lessons from a chef since her plating of the food mimicked what would be expected of a top restaurant.

“I apologize for not having a dining room table.” She motioned to the sofa before making her own way to the far end of the couch and sitting down. Setting the glass of wine on a coaster and placing the food on her lap. It was humorous to Grillby to see such a well-defined dinner served in such a dismissed way.

Slicing into the meat he was amazed at the ease his knife found its way into the flesh. He guessed he could have sliced it with a butter knife if one had been available. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, something he remembered telling her during one of his rants that day about how humans tend to overcook fine cuts of meat. Bringing it to his lips, he watched as she dug into her meal with gusto, obviously hungry from how much work she had been doing that day. The first bite into the steak made him release a moan. It was so tender, the juice bursting from the seared flesh that held just a bit of crust. The goat cheese and sweetened vinegar playing against his taste buds, causing a dramatic shift between salty, sweet, and bitter. For a moment he had to close his eyes and savor the flavor, feeling almost guilty for enjoying something this much.

“You okay?” He heard her say as she held off on taking her next bite. All he could do was nod his head, afraid to open his mouth and allow the flavor to escape without the opportunity to replace it immediately. Watching her shrug, she went back to eating her food without a second thought, humming once and a while as she consumed the mashed potatoes along with the steak.

Grillby ate his meal extremely slow, allowing himself to enjoy each bite. He would rotate around the plate, using the mashed potatoes and blanched carrots to cleanse the taste from his mouth before consuming another bite. The wine did pair wonderfully with the steak; sometimes he would take a small bite and then a swallow of wine to wash it down. Besides his own cooking he hadn’t met a monster alive that could impress him the way she had.

“Hmm… well… while you enjoy that steak I’m gonna go take a shower.” She had already finished her meal well before him. He had hardly made it halfway through his plate, unwilling to move any faster. The entire meal had been consumed in silence other than some soft moans and the sound of knife cutting into the buttery filet. He just nodded his head at her, ignoring completely as she put her plate into the kitchen sink before disappearing behind the first door on the right side of the hallway.

By the time Grillby had finished his meal, Scarmander came out of the bedroom door wearing a dark blue 50% polyester, 25% cotton, 25% rayon t-shirt and black shorts. Stretching, she looked at his forlorn expression at his empty plate. A chuckle came from her as she collected the plate from him, setting it with hers in the kitchen sink. Coming back to him and filling his glass with wine before arsing the bottle into her glass herself.

“Care to watch a movie?” She offered as she went over to the television. Judging by her attire she wasn’t going to practice with her group, would have been difficult anyways considering they thought she still had a broken arm.

“Sure.” Grillby said as he watched as she moved the television off to the side into the wall, there being a stack of DVD’s behind the TV and the DVD player as well. Popping one of the disks into the player, she didn’t even give him a chance to protest her pick. Sliding the television back into place and returning to the sofa with the remote.

Grillby sipped the wine as she moved through the selection screens for the movie titled “V for Vendetta”. He was already well settled into the sofa and watched as she got herself comfortable on the far end. Grillby debated trying to convince her to come closer but decided against it, allowing his right arm to lounge across the back of the sofa cushions and holding the glass of wine in his left hand.

Holding the remote in one hand, she pressed a few more buttons and he watched as the lights in her home turned off one by one, starting in the kitchen and moving to the living room where they sat. “It’s much better in the dark.” She mentioned as she placed the remote onto the coffee table and retrieved her glass of wine.

Grillby was captivated by the movie, or perhaps it was how at times she would softly mumble the quotes from the movie. It was impressive as she went along with V’s introduction of himself to the main female character. As the movie went on, he noticed how she would shift just a bit closer to the flame monster. By the time that the raid had happened on the television center, she was leaning against his right shoulder, her legs tucked under her.

When it came to the Evey Reborn section, her mouths formed V’s words along with him about hatred. How artists told truth within their lies. Tears were threatening at the corner of her eyes as the character walked to the roof and felt the rain on her skin. Grillby brought his arm off of the couch and pulled her closer to him, allowing his arm to remain on her shoulder. She didn’t push it off, accepting it as the dramatic scene played out on the television.

By the time Evey returned to V, Grillby noticed that Scarmander had fallen asleep. A chuckle coming as her breathing was steady on his shoulder, disrupting the flames that made his neck with slow deep breaths. Taking the pillow under his right elbow and placing it on his lap, shifting her slowly until her head rested on his lap. Her breathing was undisturbed, and he used his left hand to stroke her hair slowly as he watched the rest of the movie.

Even with the explosions, she never woke. The ending was dramatic, a tragic love story ending with the death of the main protagonists love. Grillby wondered if she enjoyed the tragedy that the love story displayed, wondering the significance to her as she slept soundly on his lap. Once the movie was completed, he didn’t want to disturb her from his lap. Shifting slowly and having to use his magic to edge the remote closer to him. The flames flickering as a delicate balance was weaved between moving the remote and avoiding damaging her equipment.

Releasing a grunt as he grabbed the remote, he turned down the volume but didn’t bother turning off the screen. He waited, frozen in place to see if she would wake but instead there was a soft snore that escaped instead. Her body shifting to allow her legs to stretch out on the sofa and her face nuzzling deeper into the pillow.

 Stretching his body out the best he could, he dropped the remote on the rug with a dull thud. Closing his eyes and allowing his head to rest into the back cushion, knowing the lack of support would cause problems in the morning but that was what healing magic was for. For now, he just wanted to be here, his fingers stroking the fabric of her shirt as it lay across her ribs. For the first time in a long while he felt… content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have not worn a 50% polyester, 25% cotton, 25% rayon t-shirt you have not lived. Seriously the softest fabric I have ever worn in my life… Also can you guess what I’m wearing right now?


	11. Chapter 11

The intrusive sun blared through the large bay windows, causing Grillby to hiss and put a hand over his eyes to avoid the insolent stars light. Realizing his lap no longer felt heavy, he removed his hand to see that although the pillow remained Scarmander was gone. A moment passed that he thought perhaps she had woken up in the middle of the night and gone to her bedroom, but the hiss from the Keurig as it made a cup of coffee brought his attention to the kitchen where she stood with her back turned to him.

Listening carefully, he realized that there was the gentle clatter of a whisk against a glass bowl. She was mixing something, probably something for breakfast considering the time of morning it was. Closing his eyes once more, he didn’t want to disrupt her and tried to urge himself back to sleep.

That was until he heard humming coming from the kitchen. It was a gentle waltz tune that he hadn’t heard before. He could hear the slight rustle of fabric as she swayed with the tune. Part of him wanted to sneak a glance at her, but didn’t want to disturb her in case she decided not to continue.

Obviously she still thought he was asleep as she went about preparing breakfast, not bothering to come back to the sofa to enjoy her cup of coffee. The oven door opened and shut with a gentle creek before she started working something on the stove. It only took a few moments before the smell of bacon wafted into the living room and he could feel himself salivate. If dinner had been so amazing last night, he couldn’t wait to find out what breakfast was like.

His pretend rest didn’t last long as the smells from the kitchen assailed his nose. Giving up, he sat up straight and listened to his magic pop and crackle in protest. Setting the pillow aside before realizing a minor morning issue and promptly returned the pillow to its resting place in his lap.

“Oh… hope I didn’t wake you.” The humming stopped as Scarmander caught sight of Grillby moving about.

“No. You didn’t.” He grumbled as he tried to figure out a way to get rid of the issue without her noticing. Before he could come up with a suitable solution she was standing in front of him with a plate of food. It was fresh scones with honey butter, bacon, and a small cup of berries.

“What would you like to drink? Coffee, tea, milk, water?” Despite her being completely inhospitable the other times he had come over early in the morning today she was pleasant. Perhaps it was the late night practices that caused her to sleep in and be grumpy when first waking.

“Tea.” He mumbled, being the less hospitable of the two at this moment. Taking the plate from her and setting it on the pillow, glad that he had a reason to continue having the shield against him. It only took a moment before she came back with a cup of green tea, some slices of lemon, sugar, milk, and honey available for him to flavor his tea as he saw fit.

Taking her seat on the opposite side of the couch, she started to pick at her food slowly and consuming tiny bits of each item before making the rounds of her plate again. It was odd behavior considering her gusto the previous evening, but he didn’t bother pointing it out. Enjoying his food, the breakfast was good but lacked the skill she had put into the masterpiece last night.

“Sorry for falling asleep on you. You couldn’t have been comfortable last night.” She mumbled as she sipped her coffee, getting into her normal position of her knees pulled to her chest and resting the coffee mug on the peak between sips. Having finished her plate and placed it on the coffee table before grabbing the mug.

It was a minor change in her speech patterns but he took notice of it. Instead of shortening her words in that annoying slangish way she did, it was more proper this morning. Perhaps the other way of speech was another method of defense she placed between them; a small barrier that she knew would annoy him.

“Don’t worry about it.” He mumbled as he sipped the tea. The remainder of breakfast was consumed in silence, with her sipping her cup of coffee and him enjoying the meal.

“If you need to use the restroom it’s the first door on the right. I’m going to get changed so no rush.” The only answer from Grillby was a bob of his head as he set the plate and teacup onto the table. Scar already disappeared into the back room, Grillby took the advantage to go and use the restroom while she was away. By now his morning wood had eased away, but he debated returning to his apartment so he could change clothes and take a nap.

Zipping up his pants, he groaned as he felt some stiffness in his lower back. Even if he was 250 years old that didn’t excuse the pain he was feeling. Perhaps he should have woken her up last night… but then the memory of her face under the glow of his purple flames came to his mind. The steady breathing as she had laid there, him stroking her shirt and her flesh, admiring those curves that she had under her clothing. No, it was better he had let her sleep.

Exiting the bathroom, he saw Scarmander pulling on her boots. Today she wore a long sleeve blue work shirt, there being a few tears in the fabric from being worn far past its lifespan. Her hair was a puffy mess on her head, having not used any gel to sculpt it into the faux hawk.

“I think I’m going to head home. I need to get stuff ready for the restaurant tonight anyways.” His voice a quiet mumble as he grabbed his shoes and took a seat on the couch to put them on. There was a disappointed look on Scarmander’s face but she quickly hid it with her default stoic expression.

“Oh… okay. Well I’ll catch ya later then,” she shrugged off as he finished tying his shoes. They both departed the home, Scarmander locking the door behind the pair. Instead of their normal gait towards the workshop this time, Grillby returned to his vehicle and made the long way back to his apartment.

Every mile to him made his hands feel a little more numb, his mind betraying him and begging him to return. Instead he pressed more firmly with his foot on the accelerator, ignoring his desire to return. Eventually the pleading disappeared and his mind aligned to what his stubborn body was doing.

Never had his apartment felt emptier than that moment he walked in. Tossing the keys into the bowl beside his door, he kicked off his shoes and ran his fingers through his hair. Going into the bedroom, he hastily removed the rest of his clothes before collapsing into the bed to get more rest. His dreams filled with the night before and the soft touch of the fabric and skin under his fingers, or how her hair looked as it danced between his fingertips. The entire time he slept he had a smile on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

The steady pounding on the door woke Grillby later that afternoon. Grumbling as he rolled out of bed, he didn’t often get guests here so he wondered who it could be. The clock beside his bed read 3:00pm. Not even bothering to put on clothing, he went to the door and while scratching at his lower abdominals with one hand he opened the door. It was Julie.

Obviously she was upset about something, but apparently his sleep ‘attire’ silenced her. Her eyes traveling over his body and he was suddenly very aware of him being naked. Not the bashful type, the placed one elbow on the open door frame and the other knuckles on his hip and leaned out over her slightly. One leg crossing over the other and a smirk playing on his lips.

“To what do I owe the pleasure Julie?” He teased as he could see the flush on her cheeks turning darker from his lack of humility.

“You… you…” all she could do was stammer. It caused Grillby to chuckle before reaching out and gripping her chin with the hand that had been on his waist.

“I, what?” He pulled her focus to his face, but she was a completely flustered mess.

“You’ve been… neglecting…” her voice was soft as he slowly licked his lips. Part of him enjoyed toying with females in this manner, especially if he was frustrated himself. None of it seemed to have fazed Scarmander yet and so he felt more like himself when watching this foolish woman’s reaction to his movements.

“Neglecting what Julie?” his voice was a hiss as he leaned closer to her. With his hand firmly on her chin, he could actually feel her body nearly give out and he allowed one side of his lips to turn up in a smirk.

“Restaurant… bar…” Julie seemed to want to add ‘me’ to the list but her breathing wouldn’t let her. At this point Grillby seemed done with toying with her and released her from his grasp, pulling back and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry… I’m back now. I’ll handle everything before ‘disappearing’ again if that’s what you’re concerned about.” His voice was curt. It irritated him that she would dare try to influence him this way. He had only been gone for a couple of days and it wasn’t like everything was going to fall apart without him. “Thanks for the wellness check.” With that he snapped the door closed in her face.

Nothing put him in a worse mood than being told what he could and couldn’t do with his own time. Grabbing his laptop from the coffee table, he sat down on the pristine white sofa and turned it on. Running a hand through his flickering locks before getting to business with contacting some of the businesses to get the work started at the bar, no point in having Scar do all this work if there wasn’t a place to put it.

After he worked on placing an advertisement out for a bartender to start working at his restaurant, he doubted he would have much difficulty finding someone but all the same it would take time to train the person to take his place. Ideally he wanted to replace himself with another monster but knew that would be darn impossible considering the part of town he worked in. Considering how many hours he worked he would probably have to hire one or two humans to take his place, working greater than 8 hours in a single day was greatly frowned upon.

Before he could snap the laptop closed there was an e-mail waiting for him. Believing it was someone about the ad; he opened the messages and saw it was from Scar. There were some attached files of the bar’s design since things had changed including better sketches of the table. He was amazed when he clicked one and noticed that it was animated to show the actual table both expanding and retracting.

There was a subtle message at the bottom of the e-mail from her.

_Not sure how much it is going to weigh so could you come by next week and help me?_

As if he would miss the opportunity, the only reason he had left that morning was because he needed to get rest and get end of the month requirements completed for the two locations. He didn’t want to seem too eager in replying to her message, but at the same time he didn’t want to seem like he was ignoring her.

_I’ll be there next week Tuesday, after 10:00am as usual. ~ G_

With that he placed the message on a timer to leave out later that evening and snapped the laptop closed. The rest of the work could be accomplished at the office in the restaurant; he should at least show his face there so the employees knew he was alive. Getting to his feet, he went about the rest of his day hoping he could restrain himself from returning to Scarmander’s place before Tuesday.

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Grillby found other ways to pass the weekend as he avoided contacted Scarmander. His fingers idly ran up and down the scales of the mermaid that lay in bed next to him from the previous evening. She was one of his favorites, always on the top of his list of booty calls when he needed one. A moan escaped her lips as she shifted under his fingertips.

“You’ve sure been affectionate Grillby… how unlike you.” Her voice was siren-like; perhaps that’s why he liked to make her ‘sing’ so much when they were together. The lavender flames stopped their gentle stroking as he considered what she had said. Lying on his back, he looked at the ceiling and ran both hands through his flames, grabbing at his skull.

“So who is she?” The mermaid purred as she shifted closer to Grillby, her seaweed colored locks framing the blueish skin of her face. “You can’t hide this from me. We’ve been doing this far too long for me to not notice the difference.”

Running his hands back over his face there was a sigh that escaped his lips. “Doesn’t matter, nothing will come of it.”

“So a human then,” a chuckle came from between the dark lips, she knew his particulars about his partners. No humans, no dogs… but besides that he wasn’t all that picky, he wasn’t even particular about gender if he could get his kicks with someone. There had been a lot of talk about him and Gaster for a while in the Underground based on the closeness that they had but no one dared bring that to light since Gaster was a tier five boss monster and could obliterate the entire Underground if he wanted.

“You talk too much.” The grumbling tone came out as she went and straddled him, a playful smirk on her lips.

“Well you know how to silence me then.” Her fingers wrapping around his wrists and guiding his hands to her hips as she grinded against him. Yes… he knew how to silence her… and while she was there he might as well get the full enjoyment since he would need to go see Scarmander tomorrow and knew he would leave there frustrated as always.

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On Tuesday Grillby woke up later than normal. Looking at the clock he saw it was well into the afternoon and he cursed himself. Of course he slept in. The mermaid was already gone, having snuck out while he was sleeping.

Getting from bed he went to the closet and pulled on the first things that his fingers touched a black V-neck t-shirt and gray slacks. Knowing he was going to be spending the day in her workshop helping he wondered if he shouldn’t stop somewhere and pick up some blue jeans instead. He was already late as was and didn’t want to spend more time away though.

Grabbing the keys from the bowl, he locked the apartment door behind him before taking the stairs a couple at a time. Sliding into the front seat of the Audi and allowing the engine to purr at an idle while he pulled out his cell phone, no missed messages or phone calls. Perhaps she just assumed he wasn’t coming and was working on something else.

The drive seemed to take a lot longer than normal, time being a cruel mistress when one was running late. Although no longer than normal, Grillby pulled up and realized it was nearly five in the evening. Perhaps he should have brought something with him to apologize to her with, but then again what did he really have to apologize for. Sure he was late but if she had been that desperate to get him there she could have called.

Instead of going to the home and knocking he immediately made his way to the workshop. There she was, kneeling over one of the larger tables and working on some of the support structure. Knowing how she could get consumed in her work, he guessed she didn’t even notice that he had been missing.

His shadow gave him away, casting into the workshop from the entryway. Kneeling on the ground, he noticed she was wearing her normal tight blue jeans but her shirt rode up slightly showing the top band of her underwear. Turning her head to see who it was, she pulled down her mask and smiled at him.

“About damn time Grillby. Could you grab that base and bring it over here?” She pointed at the hand spiraled column that was erected nearby, being held by four slopping feet that had already been attached. Grabbing it, he was taken aback by the weight of it. When he brought it to her, they rotated it so she could attach the bottom to the top.

While she was working he started to admire the work she had already put into the table, this was one of the larger ones that would actually expand. “How do you do it?” His fingers worked the grain as he held the piece in place, just mostly talking to himself. Something about how she crafted everything, it seemed as if the tree had been planted specifically to be molded by her hands in the future.

A soft hum came from her throat in a way to question him. After they had maneuvered the bottom to the correct location she had gone back to her hands and knees to get the piece put together. There were screws pressed between her lips as she held the drill in one hand that she was using to make pilot holes. Never looking up from her work he was able to admire how tight the jeans were around her buttocks. If he looked closely he could see the panty lines of the boy short style underwear she seemed to favor.

“You create these things as if you had planted the trees and shaped them as they grew.” Just as he had started speaking she began to drill another pilot hole, he was sure his voice fell on deaf ears. Tilting his head to one side, he admired how she leaned forward to allow her chest to press against the bottom of the table top, her rear end coming up higher. Now he was really regretting not coming by earlier.

Pulling one of the screws out of her mouth, she placed it in the next pilot hole before switching out the drill bit for a #2 Phillips bit and screwing it in place. This was the final screw to hold the base in place and she placed both hands on the spiral and gave it a wiggle to ensure it wouldn’t move. Satisfied with her work, she knelt back on her calves and stretched her upper body, her shirt riding up and showing off her lower back and tight abs.

“It’s just something I care about kinda like how you get inspired when you’re creating drinks. I just see what I see…” She shrugged up at him as her fingers graced over the spiral that Grillby had been admiring earlier. The table top base now stood erect without assistance, but that wasn’t the only thing erect at this point. Before she could turn around and catch sight of the throbbing problem pressing against his leg, he quickly readjusted himself, thankful he wore slacks instead of purchasing jeans at this point.

Offering a hand to her, he smiled as her fingers reached out and graciously took it. Pulling her to her feet, he briefly caught the flash of panic across her eyes as she fell into his chest with a grunt. Normally she would have been leaning against the tool bench to regain the feeling in her legs but this time he was her support.

One of his hands went to her waist as the other continued to hold her hand, holding her to his chest. The smell of coconut oil and sawdust coming with each inhale, a mixture of scents he found rather enjoyable. There was no hiding his pounding heart, her cheek pressed over his left pectoral.

“Sorry… legs fell asleep…” There was a flush over her cheeks that Grillby admired as she looked up at him. God she was so close, he only had to lean down slightly to kiss her. As if reading his mind, she went to take a step away to show her ability to stand on her own. Reflex took over and he tightened his grip on the hand he was holding up near his shoulder, the other hand pulling her closer by pressing on her lower spine. The rosy appearance of her cheeks immediately darkened as she tried to laugh away his advances like always. One hand pressing firmly on his chest as she firmly said “Really, I’m fine now.”

Seemingly taking the hint, he released her hand and his other snaked around her, grazing her hips before he allowed both of his hands to rest at his sides. During the entire encounter he had subconsciously tried to utilize his magic to bend her to his will, her defense held firmly and now he stood there feeling frustrated and inadequate in so many ways. He was reluctant to give up his pursuit, surely one day she would fail and he would get what he wanted.

“I’ll see you later.” Not wanting to waste more time on something he wasn’t going to get tonight, he turned around and started to stride off without her. Shoving his hands into his pockets and fingering his phone, wondering if he could convince that mermaid to come back over.

“See ya Thursday Grillby!” She called out after him. Yeah… Thursday. He scoffed as he kicked a rock along the pathway that was starting to be worn down from his frequent visits. Why did he bother continuing this game when it got him nowhere?

Sitting in his car he smashed his fists against the top of the steering wheel in frustration. Grabbing his cell phone from his pocket he quickly dialed the number for the mermaid as he pulled out of Scarmander’s driveway and took off to go relieve his frustrations on a more willing victim.


	13. Chapter 13

Thursday came and went. In fact more than one Thursday came and went since the last time that Grillby had seen Scarmander. Julie seemed more persistent towards getting the bar ready since the longer it sat there without patrons filling the seats the further into the hole they were going. The windows were replaced, the flooring complete, the leak repaired, and the walls were painted.

Grillby walked around the bar and admired how much everything was coming together. The electricians were working on hanging the bar lights when a knock came on the door. Outside stood four men, all of them seeming to have the same build of people that carried heavy objects for a living. A non-descript box truck was behind them and one of them thrust a clipboard with a receiving form on it indicating that these were the booths for his bar.

Looking at the address in the top left corner he knew it was Scarmander’s workshop. Sighing, he signed it reluctantly before passing it back. The man raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the others getting to work with bringing in the items and listening to the foreman’s gruff voice as he instructed them where to place the items based on the plan Scarmander had provided to him.

The movers were efficient at their job, completing the task with no idle chit chat. Only the booths and one of the two large tables were brought in. Walking around the rows, he noticed how the light reflected off of the surfaces. Running his finger across the furnishing, his indigo flames flickering from the feel of one of the knots.

Really he was being petty by avoiding her; he was just tired of the chase. Perhaps the problem was he hadn’t made his intentions clear. Wrapping one arm across his chest he placed his other hand under his chin as he thought about everything. Was there anything that he had said or done for her to doubt his intentions? An unclear signal? Not that he could remember clearly and if she didn’t know it already she would have known from how he reacted when her legs fell asleep.

Beside she had chosen him to lean on when getting to her feet. Normally she had utilized the newly made furniture or the tool bench to steady herself before walking around. He had seen that himself almost half a dozen times before so why did she change her routine this time. On top of that she had reached out to him to keep coming over to her place… But all those signs were those she was giving to him and he had been blind to realize it until that moment.

“Damnit…” what was up with humans and giving such subtle hints? Anger blossomed in the monster as he clutched his fist and gave the table a firm whack, noticing that it held up to the force really well. Impressed and angry he stormed out of the bar, locking the door behind him since the electricians had left when the movers were working.

\---------

Slamming the door behind him, he started to tug at his tie to remove it. For once he was being practical, he knew that going to Scarmander now while he was angry would cause even greater problems. Still he wondered what he could do to remedy the situation.

Unbuttoning his shirt he paced his living room. The fabric feeling extremely constrictive as the anger fueled his flames. His fingers wrestled the shirt out of his pants and undid the last buttons on his cuffs. “How was I so… fucking… blind?” The low growl came from between his lips, like a fire beginning to rage out of control in a tunnel.

Removing his shirt he threw it in the corner of the room not caring at the moment. Balling his hands into fists before releasing them repeating this motion as he paced back and forth in his living room. His memory flickered back to the last time they had seen each other and how she had bent over to put in the pilot holes. There was no reason for her to stick her ass that high in the air other than to tease him.

Letting out an angered howl at himself, he kicked one of the barstools away from his breakfast bar. On top of that the outfit she had worn the shirt that rode up. Not one other time had she worn anything that would expose her flesh while she worked with power tools and this time she let him see her underwear. He was sure everything had been absolutely intentional at this point as he thought back to such an obvious chance he had.

Plopping himself on the couch, he felt the heat continue to be in his face. The anger had given away to his lust as his mind continued to tease him with the mental image of her the last time they had seen each other and how her outfit had been changed to entice him. Wearing a navy blue t-shirt, her arms exposed and how it was a little too small for her figure which caused it to ride up in the front and the back when she moved and stretched. Her blue jeans had been exceptionally tight and allowed him to see the subtle lines caused by her panties right below her buttock, the elastic band showing above the jeans in the back.

The tips of his fingers tingled, as if remembering how her flesh had felt under them. How smooth that pale flesh when he had stroked it during the movie, her head resting in his lap. Or how her waist had felt when removed his hands from holding her, the tautness of her flesh over muscle that came from exercising for hours on end.

Swallowing hard he could already feel his member aching against the zipper of his slacks. It was too late to call someone over to relieve the issue that just thinking of that… human… woman had caused. His breathing rate increased in both anger and lust. Fingers going to the button of his pants and undoing it before working the zipper down. The member springing free, as he was not one to wear underwear.

Wrapping his fingers around the shaft, he rested his head back on the couch cushion with a groan. Feeling the length of his member and the subtle vein that ran from bottom of the shaft to the mushroom head. His thumb rubbed the soft tip, allowing the precum to wet and be spread. His mind building the image of Scarmander, on her knees as she often was in her workshop, looking up at him with those soft pink lips.

A groan escaped his own lips, opening his mouth and allowing his bluish tongue to swipe across them. His thumb retreating down the shaft to join the other fingers wrapped around the shaft as he started to pump himself. As he would come to the very base he would buck his hips into his hand a little more, allowing the rocking motion to take over his hips as he continued his fantasy in his mind.

God how he wanted to feel her tongue, her cool flesh naked and against him. The very thought made his member pulse in his hand with excitement, as if enticing him to make fantasy a reality. With one hand still pumping the hardened shaft, his other went over his chest and he coaxed his own soul from his body.

A moan erupted from his lips as his fingers played across the dark purple soul, one of indulgence. As he gave the soul the subtle squeeze he felt his entire body jerk in the pleasure of it. He hadn’t utilized his soul to get himself off in over a hundred years and had never allowed another living being to touch it.

Rubbing the surface of the soul with his thumb, holding it in his palm and supporting it with his other four fingers he continued to enjoy the warm feeling it gave him throughout his body. Like a deep tissue massage that pressed against the more sensitive muscles. Letting out panting breaths as ran his thumb one more across the slit at the top of his cock. Biting into his bottom lip as he looked down at the glistening precum coming out from the tip and coating his finger.

“Fuck… Scar…” he groaned out as he went back to pumping with a hastened pace, eyes squeezed shut. His back arched as he felt himself getting close, pushing his hips forward as if begging for more of him to be touched. Giving his soul a firm squeeze he let out another groan and felt himself release rather unexpectedly. The hot seed coating his chest and he sat there panting as his body rested back into the couch. Even his soul was coated with a warm gooey substance that dripped down his fingers and stained the couch a dark purple.

Panting, his eyes were still shut as he felt himself come down from his high. Returning his soul reluctantly to his chest before removing his pants and using them to clean up the residual stickiness from his fingers and his stomach. This didn’t resolve the issue that he still needed to talk to her, but at least he didn’t feel nearly as angry about failing to recognize something so blaringly obvious.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scarmander sings to "Find A Way" by Jessica Lerner.

Standing in the flower shop he stared at the roses with mild interest as if trying to figure out what to do. Humans often showed their affection by utilizing these but he couldn’t find a single rose that he thought was worthy of showing his affection. The florist was working behind the counter, ignoring the purple flame monster as he fingered some of the petals in thought.

“Can I help you?” The woman finally called as she finished up a bouquet that would need to be put into the cooler he was currently blocking. Turning to face her, his eyes immediately went to the flowers in her hands. They were stunning. The roses were a deep crimson with yellow streaks in them and they were surrounded by purple and pink flowers.

“What are those?” His voice steady as he struggled to contain his awe.

Her eyes went to the bouquet in her hands as she realized his sudden fascination that nothing else seemed to peak. “Oh, these are Hocus Pocus roses, purple lisianthus and the pink flowers are orchids. We don’t get the roses very often but they seem to be very popular despite the price.”

Reaching out, his fingers wrapped around the bundle of stems right over the woman’s hands. A flush working across her cheeks as he pushed a little with his magic. Immediately she released the bouquet into his hands and looked up at him with a smile on her face. “I’m glad you like it sir… The bouquet is $60.”

The flower pick stuck between two of the flowers clearly called for a greater price but he ignored it, fishing out the cash from his pocket before walking out the door. Getting into his car and setting the flowers delicately on the passenger seat before starting his journey to Scarmander’s place. The entire time stealing glances at the flowers and trying to prepare himself for her standard joking response she always had towards his advances.

\----------------

For the entirety of the drive he considered what he was going to say to her. Talking about feelings wasn’t something they did in the Underground, ever; it was considered a sign of weakness and even when it came to mating practicality ruled over emotion. The idea was to further a stronger species, not care about the other.

How did she make him feel anyways? Frustrated, sure… both sexually and emotionally. That wasn’t a ‘good’ emotion to tell a partner though. Lustful… also equally true but when was he not. No, he actually cared about her.

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he realized the truth. It hadn’t mattered to him when she invited him in for dinner that nothing had happened. He had … enjoyed… having her close to him and sleeping with her head on his lap. A shiver went through his spine as he realized he actually felt… positive… emotions for a human.

Anger threatened to rise again. Anger at himself for becoming fascinated by a human. Anger at her for being so unbreakable. Most of all anger because he hadn’t noticed weeks earlier when she kept asking him to come back what that really had meant.

Loosening his grip on the steering wheel as he pulled into her driveway, he noticed imprints from where he had been gripping it tighter in his anger. Checking the time, the clock on the dashboard indicated it was a little after twelve, perfect there was no potential of being waking her up. Due to the ‘broken’ arm she was still unable to play with her team; she had never told them the truth to save the trouble of explaining how she had been healed so she should be home.

Bouquet in one hand, he walked towards the workshop before stopping and walking away. For a few moments he just paced outside, walking back and forth from his car as he steeled his nerves. _Hope for a yes, prepare for a no_ … he kept repeating in his mind before finally stopping at the crack between the two heavy doors.

Pulling them apart, he stepped across the threshold and found the room empty. The power tools were still hanging on the dedicated spots on the wall. The entire place was swept clean and in the center of the room was the work she was doing on the bar. There was a clear chalk sketch on the ground of the dimensions he had requested, the piece of maple he had picked out for the top leaning against the doors to the room that used to hold all the other furniture.

It didn’t seem like she had been motivated to get much work done on the bar. The pieces weren’t put together and some of them were snapped in pieces. He was glad to see that she hadn’t damaged anything that couldn’t be replaced fairly easily but wondered what had gotten darkened her motivation.

That was when he noticed the door on the far side was unlocked. They were parted barely a crack, a bright light shining from between the doors. This was the first time he had ever seen that door opened, she had said it private when he had asked about it previously. Creeping slowly, he looked in with one eye, the other shutting to avoid double vision.

The room was barren other than a baby grand piano that sat in the center of the room. Scarmander was behind it sitting on the bench and facing away from where the doors were. She seemed to be writing something down before she brought her hands back down to the keys.

Although she had a grand piano in her home Grillby had never heard her sing. He hadn’t even bothered asking, but assumed it was there for decoration. It wasn’t uncommon for humans to have musical instruments in their homes to seem more cultured than they actually were.

Shoulders rising as she took a deep breath, her left foot tapped on the ground as her fingers started to dance across the keys. Her head bobbed to the pop tune before she started to sing.

_  
You said you’d cared and that you’d fight_

_Well you don’t that’s why I apologize_

_For being so damn hard_

_So it’s my turn to raise the bar_

_And I feel it too_

_This thing that we share_

_And I want you to know_

_I care as much as you_

_Just a fence is standing in our way_

_Bothered me everyday_

_It’s not your fault I know you do your best_

_But I’m skeptical I must confess_

_See I’m trying to find a way to be with you_

_Trying to find a way to make it all go through_

_Trying to find another way_

_Find another way_

 

The entire time she sang he watched as her shoulders swayed slightly as she got into it. Once done with the chorus, she started to hum as if considering the words for the next stanza. After a moment she stopped and a heavy shaky sigh came from her body. He watched as her hands removed themselves from the keys and went to her face as if shielding it. It wasn’t until the first hiccupping breath that he realized…she was crying.

Parting the door smoothly, he took a few steps in before she turned on the bench to see who had decided to interrupt her in her private lament. Her hands falling to her sides on the bench, her eyes were puffy from crying. He could tell this wasn’t the first bought of sobs she had been experiencing that day.

“Grillby… what are you doing here?” Her voice was soft as she wrapped her arms around her chest in a defensive way. Standing over her, he held out the flowers without saying a word. All the words he had thought of the entire time he drove there stolen away when he saw her. At first she didn’t reach out for the flowers, taking in the beauty of the bouquet before slowly removing one arm from her chest and taking the flowers with one hand.

“Wow… these are beautiful. Are you sure?” Leaning into the flowers, she took in the sweet fragrance with her eyes closed. He could see the smile on her lips already forming as she released her defensive hold and held the bouquet with both hands. “Thank you.”

Getting to her feet, she turned to face him on the other side of the bench, her hazel eyes still focused on the flowers in her hands. Reaching out with his own hands, he traced across the moist lines from where her tears had been, instantly drying them and wiping away the fresh ones that had formed at the corners of her eyes. With her face held in his palms, he leaned in and allowed his lips to gently press against hers.

For a moment he just held her that way, feeling her soft breath tickle the side of his nose as his head tilted to one side. There was a moment of tension, he was sure she was going to shove him off especially when he felt both of her hands grab at collar of his black vest. The flowers having been placed on the bench she had previously occupied.

_Prepare for the no…_


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO’S A SINNER… MMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!!!

_Prepare for the no…_ was all he could think as fingers wrapped themselves tighter into the fabric, that was when he a tug pulling him closer to her. Having spent so much time worried about the rejection he hadn’t prepared himself for acceptance. Mind stunned his body instantly took over, one of his hands remaining on her face as the other greedily traced down her spine and rested at the small of her back. His gentle tug guiding her to kneel on the bench that separated them, her form pressed firmly to his.

Being daring he parted his lips and allowed his tongue to slowly trace her lips. They were incredibly soft, but he already knew that from the kiss. His mind fogged with the worry of rejection but her lips parting to welcome his tongue was like the sun breaking through the clouds. Their tongues mingled with tepid curiosity at first but the fire raged into a struggle for dominance. Her lips pressed firmly to his as her tongue attempted to explore his mouth only to be met by resistance from his own trying to explore the new territory himself.

Both of his hands traced down to her knees, cupping her legs on the opposite side while he leaned over her, attempting to refrain from breaking the kiss. Very little effort was need to pull her from her kneeling position holding under her knees and pulling her close to his body. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist to avoid falling.

Closing the distance between himself and the piano, he set her down on top of it. While sitting on the piano, she tried pulled away from his kiss, him leaning forward in protest before he felt a finger press to his lips to make him pause. Dread nearly consumed his heart and soul as he pulled away from her, one of her hands resting on his shoulder and the other having her index finger pressing to his lips.

“Are you sure about this Grillby?” Wait… she was asking his consent. Seriously? A puzzled look flashed across his face and he had to restrain from laughing at her question. Wasn’t he the one that had initiated? Gently he placed one hand over hers, allowing his lips to hold the curled digit as she went to withdraw for his answer. Kissing her flesh tenderly, the deep blues of his eyes looking up to her as she seemed to search them for her answer.

“Yeah… I’m sure.” His voice a huskier tone from the burning lust that was quickly creeping over every inch of his body. The temperature of his body raising and causing the flames that made up his body to flicker into a pinker spectrum. A smile tilted one of the sides of her mouth as she nodded her head, as if affirming his answer before leaning in and removing her finger from his lips to replace once more with her own.

When their lips met there was a spark. The feeling that jostled his body and made his magic feel incredibly strong. It was a sensation unknown to him, something he hadn’t experienced before and the unknown made him try to pull back from her. This time her fingers wrapped into his flamed locks and pulled him closer into the kiss. It wasn’t unpleasant, just something he had never experienced before, a dull buzz of electricity that seemed to radiate from her body.

His hands were greedy to feel her flesh, the new power burning his body and pulling at his indulgent soul. Grasping her shirt, he played with the fabric before using his flames to start to burn it away from her flesh. Fire being his element he knew well how to control the smolder as it traced her flesh. Goosebumps sprung to life on her flesh from the whiplash of sensations, first a fiery heat then replaced by the cool air temperature.

Grasping her waist, he marveled at how his palms fit so perfectly in that curve. He could feel the muscles underneath as her entire body quaked with each breath she took. God he wanted to pull back and take a look at her, this piece of art so willing to be tainted by his craft.

With his mind occupied on feeling the newly exposed flesh he failed to notice her working the buttons of his vest and dress shirt out of their holes with a deft touch. Each of them had such a different way of undressing their lovers, hers a slow tease that made her clench her legs a little together to rub the fabric of her panties against her clit, him a greedy beast not caring about having to replace clothing afterwards. Tenderly she pulled down his shirt, finally allowing the kiss to be broken to take in the appearance of his chest.

To the gods above she was beautiful. Noting that her milky white skin was nearly flawless. With his fingers he traced from collar bone to the crest of her bra, there hiding beneath where the strap and padding met was a tattoo. A treble clef and a base clef formed a heart, both dazzling shades of gold and silver that seemed to shimmer as he touched it.

“Beautiful…” he whispered breathlessly, his eyes covetously looking at her flesh as he restrained himself to removing her bra at the clasp. It slowly slips down her front only for there to be some resistance as she crossed her arms across the twin peaks, hiding herself from view.

His eyes went to hers and watched as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. A blush across her face and a shyness so unlike her causing him to pause. Standing there bare chested, he would normally not have paid attention to a lovers worry, and he always knew what they all wanted anyways. Reaching up, he ran his fingers up and down her shoulders gently, the soothing motion causing her arms to slowly move away and the worried expression to disappear.

Leaning in, he kissed the budding nipple, taking it gently in his mouth and rolling it with his tongue. Ensuring the other wasn’t neglected he reached over and allowed his thumb to work small circles across the flesh. Her body arching into his hands and mouth as her hands went back to support her upper body on the piano. The moan escaping her lips fueling him as he kissed across the valley and started working the other peak.

Opening his eyes, he drank in her appearance with her head tossed back as he thumbed her tits, feeling the stiffness and sensitivity of her flesh. Raking his fingers across her firm stomach he thumbed the button of her jeans. Leaning forward and grabbing the zipper pull with his teeth, pulling it down as he took the time inhale the sweet smell of her flesh… her heat, sweat, and sawdust.

Releasing a groan, his fingers hooked into both her belt line and her underwear, tugging it over her hips. She seemed more than willing as she raised her hips by pressing firmly to the piano’s surface with her palms. A hungry look flickering across her eyes as she watched him.

The sound of wood scraping across the concrete ground as he hooked his foot under the bench and pulled it over. He wanted to take his time with her and the best way was to be comfortable. He wrestled the piano bench closer, knowing it was too short to sit on but perfect for kneeling. He was amazed at the comfort of the leather cushion under his knees as he kneeled before her before turning his attention back to her.

Placing a hand gently on her stomach, he guided her to lay back on the piano. His eyes holding hers for a moment as she wondered his plan. Slowly his fingers traced across the tops of her thighs to the bunched fabric of her jeans. Untying each shoe and peeling it off along with her socks. Discarding her clothing beside the bench and allowing his fingers to run across the manicured toes, working the imprint from the fabric of her socks off of her flesh with a gentle heat.

Everything was calculated and patient. Despite his greed towards removing her clothing he did understand what human women enjoyed. Starting at her ankle of her right foot, he slowly trailed kisses up across the flesh. Her flesh was unlike what he expected given her job, well cared for and smooth to the touch. Stopping at her knee, he ran his fingers along the back of the joint making her shiver from the touch at the sensitive location.

Part of her wanted to be greedy, to beg him to just take her but as more pleasure racked her body her fingers splayed on the piano surface and her back pressed to the cool wood. Tilting her hips slightly as if trying to tantalize him with her moist sex. Grillby was tempted, but continued the slow pursuit up her legs before positioning himself between them. His nose buried lightly in her mound, with his upper lip resting firmly against the front edge of her public bone. His upper lip and gum applying gentle pressure just above her clit.

By the stars above she was ready for him. One of her hands going down and grasping his before he started to apply pressure to the throbbing bud. The hot air coming from between his lips teasing across the sensitive bundle and making her moan. Using his free hand to insert a single digit partially in, hooking into the fabled g-spot right inside a woman’s cunt and allowing his tongue to play across her lower lips.

Over the course of moments he worked her body, inserting a second finger and performing a come-hither motion against the inside cluster of nerves. His tongue alternating between lapping at the moistness and applying focused strokes against her clit. Once and a while he pulled back, allowing her to whimper and her knees to shake from the sudden break of contact from his warm tongue.

Dark blue eyes peered up at her from between her legs but she was completely unable to look at him at this point. One of her hands was clasped over her mouth as she panted and mewed. Her back trying to become one with the surface, pushing her hips up and trying to force his face deeper into dripping pussy. The entire time he took pleasure in seeing her coming so undone with pleasure.

Just a little more pressure, a gentle nibble against the clitoral hood and she spasmed under his fingers. Using his hands, both free now as her body unwound from the orgasm that wracked her body he kept his focus on keeping her legs in the proper position, supporting the continual contact of his lips against her clit. Breathing heavy, he allowed her to come down from her orgasm as he pulled his face away, licking his lips slowly as she watched him.

“F…fuck…” was all she could whimper as another shiver pushed through her.

“We aren’t even close to finished…” Grillby chuckled as his fingers undid the button and zipper of his slacks, freeing his stiff member. Hazel eyes flickered to his stiff shaft, it throbbing from want. His eyes watched as her throat rippled from a hard swallow.

Grasping her hips, he pulled her closer to the piano’s edge and allowed her ass to hang from the side of the surface. Standing up, he marveled at how the piano was just the right height for him to thrust into her. Teasing the moist lips with the tip, she quivered in his hands from her still sensitive body.

“Ask nicely…” he cooed as he leaned over. There was a flash of defiance in her eyes as if insulted by his teasing nature. If it weren’t for the fact he was so in control of the situation he was sure she would have flipped the script.

Instead her lips parted with a whispered “please… fuck me…”

Goddess above those words made him hiss in pleasure before hilting himself completely into her sheath. A groan erupting from both of their lips from the sudden contact before he allow himself to start the gentle rhythm into her body. At first he tried to be gentle but being from a cruelty ridden place his kisses on her flesh turned to nibbles. His gentle rocking turning into heavy thrusts.

Biting into her collar bone, he wanted to mark her… make sure every human and monster knew. A yelp came from her lips as she struggled against the sharp teeth that pierced and bruised her flesh before the pain subsided into greater pleasure. He could feel her fingers come up behind him, raking down his back and wishing his flesh was tangible for her to mark as well.

After having built up the suspense for so long he couldn’t bring himself to hold back his own pleasure. His forehead pressed into her chest between her collar bones as he felt himself so close.

“Tell me where you want it…” He panted out as he shifted his grip on her ass, her knees at his elbows.

“Inside… I want it deep…” A shiver passed through his body as her cool breath teased across the flames on his head. She didn’t have to tell him twice and he thrusted deep into her. Feeling her convulse around his cock in a mild orgasm while he coated the cool walls with his warm cum.

It was at this point he wished they were in a bed. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close to his body and allowed his warm body to wick away the sweat her flesh. Sitting back into the bench behind him as she knelt there, still unwilling to break the contact between them. Closing his eyes he nuzzled his lips against her neck, feeling the indents from where his teeth had marked her.

Scarmander’s arms wrapped around him, holding him close and allowing her head to rest on his open shoulder. Eyes closed as her body shivered from the cool air that was trying hard to invade the warmth that Grillby was providing.

“How about we go back to your place for round two…” his voice purred into her ear as she tried to keep herself from nodding too enthusiastically. No doubt there wouldn’t be much sleep happening tonight for either one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... straight up recommend reading  
> She Comes First by Ian Kerner (it's a real book)  
> It's 100% about the correct way to eat pussy and gives great notes on technique and cues.


	16. Chapter 16

Sunlight crept through the slight opening between the red curtains cascading over Grillby’s face. Letting out an irritated groan, he shifted closer to the source of the light causing the beam to fall on the pillow next to his head. The flannel sheets that had wrapped the king size bed were now heaped at the bottom of the bed, the warmth of his body enough to keep him and Scarmander warm.

Stretching out his sore muscles, he released a soft groan as he rolled over onto his stomach. To the heavens above he had never been this sore in his life, yet it was an invigorating soreness that came from physical activity. After the piano they hardly had a moment of rest, passing out as the sun just started creeping into the sky.

One of his hands crept to the opposite side of the bed searching for the naked flesh. Running his fingers lazily over the mattress before realizing the coolness and lack of her. Opening one eye, he took in the empty space with confusion before sitting up. How long had she been gone? Obviously long enough to allow the bed to cool.

Getting out of bed he idly scratched the back of his flamed locks. Shuffling to the bedroom door, he opened the door cautiously as the light invaded the room. Narrowing his eyes, he wished for his dark apartment at that moment but waking up there would have meant last night hadn’t happened.

What met him with the invasion was the smell and sound of bacon cooking. Inhaling deeply, he could tell there was something baking with citrus. Rounding the corner of the kitchen his eyes fell upon probably the most wondrous sight he had seen since exiting the underground and seeing the sky for the first time. There was Scarmander standing in front of the stove as she started to crack eggs into a frying pan. Her hair messed from the night before and wearing nothing but his button up black shirt, it hanging down to cover over her ass and front.

At that moment he wished he had a camera. A swell of unknown emotion came over him as he leaned against the wall and watched her. It wasn’t until she went to get the plates that she noticed him and gave him a gentle smile.

“I hope you’re hungry.” She held up the spatula like a small trophy before going about retrieving the plates. A sway in her hips as she moved back to the stove to begin plating. Instead he followed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing his head on the nook of her shoulder. Slowly she leaned into his arms, feeling his broad chest against her back.

“Come back to bed…” he whispered before nipping at her earlobe. He could hear her breath hitch and watched her bite her bottom lip for a moment before pulling away and this time brandishing the spatula as if it were a grand weapon.

“No way! I just spent an hour making breakfast. We can go back to bed after.” There was a playful wink before she grabbed a knife and some butter from the fridge. “Can you grab the scones out of the oven please?”

Without hesitation, Grillby opened the oven and pulled out the pan of scones without an oven mitt. Placing the hot pan on the top of the stove to allow the cranberry orange scones to cool. Scarmander handed him a plate of bacon and eggs as she went about grabbing a couple of hot scones from the pan. Delicately opening them and slathering the insides with the honey butter she had made.

Honestly Grillby wasn’t much interested in the food, but the idea of a woman cooking for him wasn’t something he could easily dismiss. The entire meal seemed to pass in a haze thanks to his exhausted mind. The conversations they had mostly dealt with simple questions about each other such as favorite food, music, movies, and etcetera. Although the information was nice to have it was stuff that could easily slip from one’s mind if it wasn’t written down.

Scarmander finished her food first and set the plate on the coffee table. Slowly she stalked towards him on her hands and knees before splaying out and resting her head on his leg. A visible hard swallow causing him to nearly choke on the piece of scone he had popped into his mouth before her sultry advance. At that point he gave up on his food, she was much more appetizing to him.

Disturbing her position to set his own plate on the table, he was greeted by her laying on her back upon him settling into the couch himself. It was… nice… to be able to relax like this. Normally he would have already left, or persuaded his hussy for the night to leave but he couldn’t do that. He felt firmly rooted here and didn’t want to leave.

One of his hands stroked through her hair idly as he allowed himself to tumble deeper into his thoughts. Increasing the pressure of his fingertips, he massaged her scalp and watched as her breathing slowed as she relaxed more. The slow circular movements in her short hair soothing her into a meditative state.

Feeling emboldened he ran his other hand down the front of the shirt across the buttons. It wasn’t until the return trip that his fingers wiggled them loose. His gaze went to the tattoo that was over her heart, it had to be recent based on how it shimmered silver and gold. Reaching out, his fingers traced over the ink in her skin with mild curiosity… that is until her hand grabbed his and their gaze met.

“What are you doing?” There was concern and a tinge of fear lacing her voice.

“Admiring your tattoo. Is it new?” Feeling her grasp loosen a little as his hand retreated from where it was and rested below her breasts.

“Y…yeah. I got it a couple days ago.” Her eyes flickered away and glanced towards the left. Grillby could tell she was lying and debated pressing the issue or not.

Instead he decided to take a little less direct approach. “I noticed I haven’t been able to see your soul…” It was true, he had been so eager to see that shine that the lack of the crystalline heart had been painful. Feeling her tense in his lap he gathered he was right. The tattoo had something to do about it.

Silence consumed the void that was now growing between them. Suddenly he felt as if he had made the wrong choice but he was curious how something so beautiful could disappear so quickly. Feeling her shift in his lap to a sitting position, he reached out and grasped her shoulder worried he might lose her if he didn’t.

“Scar… don’t… I didn’t mean.” Words tripped over each other as her fingers eased his grip from her shoulder. Tucking her knees under her body, her fingers went to the tattoo and slowly traced the design over and over again. Grillby watched as the ink seemed to shift under her fingers, swirling and playing across her nail before she placed her entire hand over it. There was no way for him to prepare for what happened next.

Grillby had seen plenty of souls, had held them in his hands and crushed them into dust while he had been in the Underground. The white cartoon like heart beating in his fingers as the monsters would wail in agony or pleasure. It was a taboo to touch another creature’s heart, often reserved for mating or fighting.

Slowly she coaxed her own soul from her body. Gasping as it passed through solid mass to come to the surface. Grillby had to shield his eyes from how bright it was but between his fingers he could see the entire room lit up in red. The red aura coming from the soul was powerful, he was sure even Gaster hadn’t heard of a mage like this since before the barrier was placed.

Panting, her hand laid flat with the beating heart hovering over the center of her palm. Looking up at him in the glow, she waited and judge his reaction towards this discovery. Slowly he lowered his hand from shielding his eyes, looking at the glowing beacon and wetting his lips. Deep down he wanted to touch it, to feel how powerful it was. Something like this could give monsters an unbelievable advantage over humans.

Yet here she was completely venerable and trusting him. Worry, fear, anxiety… all these emotions and more flickering over her gaze but never a positive emotion. They both knew that all Grillby had to do was reach out and take it, that even if she fought there would be little resistance without the source of her magic.

Reaching out, he could feel the power emanating off the soul. Using both hands, he gently cupped the soul and felt the surging of power tickling against his magic. The spark and hum that reminded him of kissing her last night. Instead of taking the precious item he pushed it forward and back into her chest. As the heart sank into its sheath he watched as the tattoo sparked to life once more from its dull black to the flickering silver and gold.

With both hands over her heart, he looked up to her and saw relief. Both of her hands met his and clasped the backs of them gently. “Around you I couldn’t maintain my normal defense.” Her voice was a pained whispered as she kept her gaze down, looking at his wrists. “I had to come up with something more… drastic.”

“You know you’re a mage.” His voice was an awed whisper as one of his hands escaped her clutches and went to her chin to make her look up to him. All she could do was nod in response to the non-existent question.

“Yet… you came to the monster part of town and you worked with an insanely powerful boss monster.” Anger started to etch into his voice as worry grasped his soul. “Gods above and they… they are…” His mind went to Gaster and his constant search for powerful souls.

Seeing how Grillby was taking the discovery, her hands released his remaining hand and fell limply to her sides. “I can take care of myself Grillby…” her terse response seemed to break him from whatever thoughts were distracting him.

“Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how strong some monsters are?” Grillby stood up and held both of his arms out forming a t with his body. Immediately she stood up as well to avoid allowing him a dominating body position.

“I can take care of myself Grillby… no one has bothered me.”

“YET! No one had bothered you yet!” Lowering his arms he gestured at her soul. “But they will. Now instead of a shining beacon there is just a void there. Don’t you think that would be curious?”

Pulling off his shirt, she tossed it at him. Used to getting clothing tossed at him, he immediately caught it and held the shirt in his hands. Worrying the fabric with his fingers as he watched her. There was hurt on her face as she walked back to the bedroom, him following her and watching her gather his clothing.

“I know exactly how dangerous some boss monsters are…” her voice was a soft mutter before thrusting his pants at him. There were tears in her eyes and he wondered what the cryptic sentence meant.

“Scar…” his voice was soft as he dropped the shirt he had carried and wrapped his arms around her. Feeling the fabric of the pants brush against his leg as she dropped them on the ground. Wrapping her own arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. There was so much he didn’t know about her but he wanted to. He wanted to protect her.

“We can figure this out…” Now this was a new development for the flame monster. Normally he wouldn’t help anyone out with their problems, much less use the plural term ‘we’. Obviously this was something Scar picked up on because her breathing slowed and her body tensed at his phrasing.

“Let’s start at the beginning…”


	17. Chapter 17

A deep sigh radiated from her chest as they lay in bed together, Grillby slowly stroking her back and staring at the ceiling. There was no point in pressuring her to talk about something that obviously upset her, but he didn’t understand how to fix the problem. That being said there was a much larger problem than just monsters coming after her.

“Do you remember the photo in the album?” The voice was so soft, brushing against the flames in timid whisper that he almost missed it. The photo she spoke about, the family with solemn appearances as they took a family portrait. Husband, wife, six sons and a daughter that sat on the mother’s knee.

“Yes… I remember.” It didn’t seem like she would be willing to look at him while talking so he continued his ministrations along her spine with his fingers as he took in what she said.

“My family…” she paused on the word as if it were difficult to admit to, “we are continued generations of selective breeding. All of us are mages.” This made Grillby stop with his motions and stiffen under her. Six male mages?

“My defense was never about keeping monsters out, although it had that added benefit considering some monsters try to utilize their skills to advance themselves…” again a pause and Grillby realized that she knew he had tried to infiltrate her soul a long time ago when they first had met. When he had tried to use his powers of persuasion to sway her to giving him the materials he wanted. “It was about keeping my family out.”

Going back to stroking her back, he took in what she was saying with deep consideration. There was long pauses, the hesitation from her making him realize she was being careful about all that she told him. Giving him just enough information to guide his questions but hopefully not allow him to formulate a plan.

“My brothers were trained in… offensive magic and I am basically their shield.” Tucking her head closer to his chest, she inhaled the musky scent of his body. A comforting smell like a bonfire with friends. “They aren’t happy that monsters are back on the surface.”

Again that pregnant pause that allowed the development of understanding to come to light. “Seven mages…” Grillby breathed as his eyes flickered from one side of his sockets to the other as he put everything together. With her ability to generate a shield, a powerful enough one could be used to generate another barrier. They had just gotten back to the surface and this entire time there had been a threat of being stuffed back into the abyss or worse, eliminated in their entirety this time.

It seemed she understood he finally was able to piece enough together. “So you’ve been hiding yourself.” His voice was soft as he looked down at her. They had been on the surface for years, and she had been using monsters as a way to deter her family from searching for her.

Grillby could feel the tug of the muscles on her face as she tried to smile past whatever grim thought currently passing in her mind. Gripping her tighter, he was unwilling to let he go but wondered if perhaps it was best. If what she told him came to fruition they would be on two opposing sides of another grand war. Would he honestly have the ability to strike her down?

“I’ll be fine… I’ve been able to stay hidden this long.” Her voice was soft, as if speaking to herself.

The silence consumed the room with a deafening pulse only pausing with the unison breathing of Scarmander and Grillby as they lay there. Moments passed and just as Grillby was about to speak, to try to convince her that he could protect her, his phone blared to life. It was the restaurant, apparently one of the chefs had called in sick and they needed Grillby immediately. As much as he wanted to tell them to buzz off he knew he couldn’t. With one final lingering kiss, Grillby pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers, their flamed color locks flickering with a breeze. “We will figure this out…” he whispered in promise before departing.

\------

Despite best efforts to formulate a plan or even to get a chance to see her again, Grillby was unable to get in touch with Scar. Every time he hopped into his car and started driving there would be a phone call from another panicked employee or supplier about something that was going wrong. The reason? Julie had quit managing the majority of the issues for Grillby since his new found interest in Scarmander came to light.

Having been so used to seeing her every day Grillby felt tormented by the responsibilities he had towards himself and his employees. Even when trying to text her there was no response back and he wondered if perhaps disappearing the way he did ruined everything. As much as he tried with the lack of response coming back, he realized that perhaps he had treated her as another notch in his belt like so many before. Another name for his black book of conquests.

Gaster had never seen Grillby so distracted and frustrated before. Sitting at the bar with his dark purple turtle neck on, he ran one finger idly across the outside of his wine glass. Grillby had incorrectly prepared a simple margarita earlier by utilizing well tequila verses the top shelf that was requested. The patron never noticed but it wasn’t something that Gaster hadn’t picked up on.

** “What is troubling you?”  ** Gaster wasn’t prepared as Grillby spun around and smacked his hands onto the countertop at shoulder distance. The flames sputtered out for a second before reforming into fingers. The depths of his blue eyes bore into Gaster’s hollow eye sockets. This was completely unlike Grillby, the last time he had been this frustrated is when he found out that Sans had changed all the ketchup in the red bottles to mustard, leaving mustard in the mustard bottles as well, it was why Grillby refused to have anything but clear ketchup bottles anymore.

The entire restaurant went silent, eyes on the flame monster as he slowly raised to his full height. Shaking his head he walked out the side of the bar and proceeded down a hallway to the back alley. Gaster remained at his seat watching this puzzling expression of irritation from his silent associate.

Gaster’s sons had requested for him to meet them at a skating rink later that evening due to something they found that he would be interested in. This was highly debatable but he had agreed anyways. After waiting several moments for Grillby to come back, interested in knowing what had irked a 250 year old flame monster, he couldn’t wait any longer and left cash at the bar before departing to his next adventure.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love love love vintage styles… here is the dress  
> http://www.dresslily.com/retro-button-embellished-polka-dot-dress-product1761927.html

Lying in bed, his eyes wandered over to the two bunny monsters he had convinced to come home with him that evening. After Gaster had left, and Grillby had burned through an entire pack of smokes trying to calm himself down, he reverted back to his safety net of reactions to take someone home. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as he had hoped and strangely enough he didn’t feel any better.

Twins this time. He snorted as he reached into the drawer of his bedside table. This was definitely one worthy of being recorded. Scratching the names into the book with his pen, he sighed as he flipped through the pages. So many women and men… couples… singles… mother and daughter combo… most guys would have been envious to see the small black booklet that detailed his escapades.

When everything was said and done what would all these conquests really equate to? The inconsistency of his emotions was starting to weigh on him since that night at Scarmanders. Despite the fact that his fingers itched to add her to the book he couldn’t. With her it was… different… yet he couldn’t and subconsciously didn’t want to figure out why.

Running his fingers over the pages he considered igniting the book, as if it would erase his past as well but it wouldn’t. Sighing, he rolled over and dropped the booklet back into the bedside table before snapping the drawer shut. Picking up his phone, the light from the screen caused the two women to shift in the bed next to him.

He wanted to text her… to try to work something out with her but considering his current position how could he expect her to believe him? Perhaps it would be better to etch her name into the book and move on. Dropping the phone on his chest, he groaned and rested his palms over his eyes. Why did he have to be so stupid and ruin it before he even got everything for his bar!? That’s right because he was selfish and wanted everything right now.

The anger was bubbling up inside him again. Throwing the phone across the room it landed in a discarded pile of clothing from the night before with a dull thump. Rolling over to his side, he ran his fingers across the closest woman’s side, stirring her from her slumber. Pressing that finger slowly to his lips to tell her to keep quiet, she blushed realizing she was going to get some ‘alone’ time with him this morning.

Perhaps it would just be best to forget about Scarmander… after all women like this bunny creature were a lot easier to manage.

\---------------------------

Over a week had passed since Grillby had made that promise to work with her on figuring a solution out. A week and he hadn’t received a message back from her. As much as he wanted something more he couldn’t help but wonder if her avoidance wasn’t the same as why he avoided the phone calls and text messages from women after he bedded them. Had he been played and was receiving a taste of his own medicine for one? No… no that couldn’t be. Why would she have shown him her soul if that were the case? No, she wanted his help… he was sure of it.

It wasn’t until he heard the crack that he noticed he had been rubbing the glass in his hand too hard. The crack in the glass branched from the rim all the way to the base. Sighing he tossed the glass into the garbage, hearing it shatter as it hit the bottom of the can. Placing his hands on the bar, he allowed his fingers to rub the edge tenderly. Just like the bar top at his next location, this one had been handcrafted by her.

His indigo flames reflected on the polished surface. The finishing causing the grain to shine just a hue different than the rest of the wood. It wasn’t something he had noticed before but it brought a smile to his face as he thought about the care she had taken to select and finish the wood as she had.

The restaurant was rather quiet for a Tuesday evening. Lately there had been rumors about him losing his cool a little over a week ago. On top of that many of the female patrons wouldn’t come back because they would always leave ‘heartbroken’ from his apartment the following morning. Although he mostly stuck to monsters, that didn’t mean that his magic didn’t touch a few of the human women by accident and left them rather dazed with their husbands. Perhaps the restaurant would recover after he left to start the bar, where his antics were a little more welcomed.

Hearing the chime of the welcome bells, he raised his head to see who the new patron was and his blood froze in his veins. It was Gaster, wearing his standard dark purple turtleneck, long black trench coat, and black pressed slacks. On his arm was a young woman wearing a square collared dark blue dress. The dress had an upper panel that covered her chest with black and white polka dots, the patterned continued in two panels in the front. It cinched her waist perfectly with the fullness of the dress giving her a stunning hourglass shape. 

Now first it would have surprised Grillby to see this human on the arm of such a powerful monster. What got to him as he admired her simple black heels, tapered lean legs, and just how well the dress suited her frame was the stark contrast of the vintage style and the flame colored faux hawk. For all the people to walk into his establishment it just had to be the one person that had been avoiding him… Scarmander.

For a moment he couldn’t breathe as he watched Gaster sit down, facing towards the bar as Scarmander took the seat across from him. The bone white hands reaching across and taking hers fondly, allowing her to casually trace the hole of one of hands with her manicured nail. No… there had to be more than one woman with a faux hawk like that. Grillby begged the heavens above that now not be the time to get back at him for everything that he had done to women in his extensive past.

He could feel the blood rushing through his veins with a fiery anger. There was no way she didn’t know that this was the restaurant that Grillby owned. His fingers pressed into the bar top, scorching deep rivets into the wood as he watched a waiter come over with a bottle of wine for the two of them. His fire burning so hot that the flames changed from lavender to a deep purple with flecks of blue.

Without saying a word he stormed out the fire exit in the back to try to cool himself down. Pacing outside, his fingers searching for the new pack he had bought earlier that day. After what had happened between them… his confession that he actually had sincere emotions for her… she had the audacity to come in to his restaurant with Gaster? His fingers clenched around the pack, crushing it instantly and causing the tobacco to smoke as it sifted through his fingers.

Slowly his fury calmed, replaced with an emotion he couldn’t quiet place. Had he really not meant anything to her? His mind raced over every interaction they had together. How she had brought him to her warehouse and allowed him to pick the wood, but she had been reluctant to part with her most prized piece, something he had gotten anyway. How she had taught him how to fix minor issues in the bar surfaces… was that to make it so he wouldn’t call upon her more often in the future? What about when her legs fell asleep and she had leaned against him, close enough he could feel her cool body and smell her unique scent while she recovered? Or how about the kiss, where she had pulled him closer and it had led to so much more.

Pressing his back against the stone wall, he slowly slid down it and looked up at the darkening sky. His shoulders felt numb, as if a pressure was pushing against them. No woman had actively resisted him like she had. Actively resisted him. Those were the key words that ran across his mind over and over again as he pressed his hands to his forehead, his knees supporting his elbows as he sat there. Heartbreak. He was feeling heartbroken and betrayed.

By the time he sorted out his emotions it had already been an hour. He assumed that Gaster and Scarmander would be gone by now and as such he retreated back inside. His absence from the bar the entire time hadn’t been noticed by anyone except for Gaster. Sure enough Gaster and Scarmander were still sitting there, chatting away, having just received their dinners.

Scarmander was smiling, she looked so happy and the dress complemented her body and hair perfectly. She chuckled as she sliced into the steak, holding it out for Gaster to try. “Come on… I bet you’ve never tried a steak so good in your life!” She purred as Gaster gave in and took the bite from her. Then she proceeded to slice back into the filet and eat from the same fork.

Grillby couldn’t handle it; it was like watching his favorite toy being played with by another kid at the park. Walking over to Gaster and Scarmander, he placed his hands on the table top. It was at this point Scarmander’s eyes caught sight of his flames, the darkness of them. “We’re closed… you need to leave…” He hissed out as he looked straight at the pair of them.

** “Grillby…”  ** Gaster was a bit taken aback by the sudden change in Grillby’s normally nonchalant demeanor.

“I… I didn’t know this was your place Grillby…” Scarmander interrupted, distracting the fury that was aimed towards Gaster towards herself.

“Bullshit… you built everything that is in here.” He snapped at her, his flames licking at the coated surface.

“I did… but I worked with Julie the entire time.”

“My name is on the fucking building…” by now the patrons were starting to quiet down as the drama at the booth increased.

A sigh escaped her lips, obviously she had been trying to resolve this in a cooler way but Grillby was just too hot headed. Slipping out from her seat at the booth, she stood there facing Grillby. Fierce determination blazed in her eyes and thanks to her heels she was practically eye to eye with him.

“You’re right. I did know and I still accepted the invitation anyways because I figured you could be an adult.” Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides as she looked him in the eyes.

Grillby sputtered as he looked her in the eyes. “Adult? An adult wouldn’t have given me mixed signals a week ago.”

This caused Gaster to freeze, his mind going back to recall the sudden change in Grillby’s attitude. How he had smacked the bar top and stormed out last week Wednesday. Was she the cause of this sudden change in his friend? Taking a few steps around Grillby, he went to wrap an arm around Scarmander only to watch as she shoved a finger into Grillby’s chest.

“So says that man well known in these areas as being a casanova himself. Honestly Grillby it was just sex… you of all people should understand that concept.” At this point she had advanced a step towards Grillby forcing him to retreat a little.

“Nothing? Nothing? You can’t tell me you felt absolutely nothing! What about afterwards?!” Grillby squared off with her as her finger continued to dig into his chest. At that point he felt some of the pressure release as she paused, hoping that he wouldn’t elaborate on the following morning. “On top of that I’ve been trying to contact you all week and you’ve been so generous as to ignore me!”

“You’re right, I didn’t feel nothing. What I felt was conflict because I try to separate work from personal life. I felt unsure if I was just another woman in your little black book. I figured why not treat the most famed playboy of the underground like he had treated so many others?”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?”  By now the restaurant was clearing out. No one had seen Grillby this testy before, not even Gaster. Watching her cross her arms over her chest in a defensive posture he let out a low growl. Fingers flexing at his sides as he tried to calm himself but instead the aggressive posture just seemed like he was more likely to strike her.

“Get out…” Grillby hissed as he looked her in the eyes. It had hurt him, as much as he was ashamed to admit, to hear he had been played.

“Gladly…” she huffed as she wrapped her arm around Gaster’s. The entire time he had stood by her side, observing his friends torment with scientific curiosity. There had been no point in stepping into the fight since it was obvious that doing so would not change the path that the fight was taking. Nodding his head, he walked away from his friend with her on his arm.

Grillby stood there in his empty restaurant, panting, shoulders heaving as he attempted to calm himself but continued to fail. The wait staff cowered in the break room as they heard him in the front room. The entire time he kicked tables and chairs, damaging the property that would probably cost a fortune to replace since he didn’t have Scarmander anymore to rely on. Eventually he fell to his knees, arms hanging at his sides, and for once in his life feeling defeated.


	19. Chapter 19

Grillby had spent the majority of the night replaying the events that occurred earlier while sitting at the empty bar drinking the 100 proof liquor. There was so much on his mind considering a week ago and what had just transpired. Knocking back another shot of fire whiskey he released a sigh.

 _It was just sex._ The thought replayed over and over in his mind. It was a broken vinyl, scratching and skipping at the top of his mind. Once and a while it would skip a little further back to that night, the song… the feel and taste of her body. To turn around and call it just sex it infuriated him. Anger fueled him and he grabbed the shot glass, throwing it across the restaurant and watching it shatter near all the other ones he had loosed earlier in the evening.

What the hell was he supposed to do? Leaning over, he crossed his arms on the bar top and placed his forehead on them. Closing his eyes, he didn’t care that the position he was in was extremely uncomfortable considering he had been standing prior to. Sleep kept trying to inch its way across the flame monsters body, wrapping around him like a warm blanket. Once again he shrugged it off and grabbed another bottle of fire whiskey, opening it and forgoing the shot glass this time, allowing the liquid to poor straight down his throat.

He could feel the flames around his mouth sizzle any escaping liquid. Placing the bottle, now a fifth drained, he sighed as he ran his fingers through his lilac locks. This reaction was completely unlike him and it frustrated him. He wasn’t one to drink this much of his own stock, let alone allow himself to start feeling drunk. It took a lot of alcohol to cause the flame monster to be drunk as was evident by the two empty 750mL bottles of fire whiskey in the garbage.

Stumbling behind the bar, he walked out the front of the restaurant and closed the door behind him. Hissing under his breath as the sunlight scorched his dilated eyes. Grumbling as he staggered down the empty alley with one hand pressed against the wall to steady himself. Climbing into the passenger seat of the car, he closed his eyes and finally allowed sleep to caress him.

\-------------------------

Mid-afternoon Grillby finally woke up again. Crawling over the arm rests and into the driver’s seat, he shivered from the feel of the cool leather through his clothing. Despite the alcohol having worn off, leaving him with an unpleasant headache, he didn’t feel any better than before he had started drinking.

Starting the engine, the V10 purred to life. Putting the car into gear, he accelerated hard and peeled out from behind the building to the busier street, narrowly avoiding a person that had been crossing in front of the alley way. They raised their fist, hollering at the flame monster, but the car was already down another couple of blocks and the threats fell on empty ears.

Grillby knew he should have gone to his apartment and slept off the hangover. After what happened last night he doubted anyone would be coming in that evening, and if they were he doubted they would want to see the ball of fire handling the alcohol. No… he was on a mission… and he needed to get everything off his chest before something else like this happened.

The drive to Scarmander’s home didn’t seem nearly as long as before. Pulling into the driveway and shutting down the car. His eyes went to the warehouse and the workshop; neither of the doors were opened as they normally would have been at that time of the day. When the weather was nice and cool Scarmander had preferred to work with the doors opened, allowing the natural light to highlight her work. It was odd that she wouldn’t have the doors opened this time.

Stepping out from the car, he could smell food cooking. The kitchen windows were opened and allowing the scent of freshly frying bacon and eggs to escape the confines of her home. Grillby blinked, as he stepped a bit closer to the window, the scenario seeming so familiar and dread started to coil within him. Wanting to take a peek inside but deciding against it, he backed away carefully to ensure the crunching gravel under his shoes didn’t alert her

Standing before the door, he raised one hand to knock. Looking at the distressed wood under his knuckles and feeling the desire to retreat starting at unwind from the coil within his soul. Before it could reach his legs he knocked twice. The raps on the door soft enough that perhaps she wouldn’t hear them over the sound of frying food.

One step back… two… yes no doubt she didn’t hear it. He was five steps away when he heard the deadbolt sliding from its locked position. Freezing and turning around his eyes drank in what was both lovely and terrible all in one sight.

Scarmander was standing there in a long purple turtle neck sweater, clearly too large for her. It hung from her slender frame, the sleeves rolled up to just above her wrists. The bottom of the sweater was tugged a bit lower by one of her hands in the front when she realized who it was. It barely came to the bottom of her butt cheeks and allowed him to observe those pale crescents.

Opening his mouth, he wasn’t sure what to say. Lips working empty syllables without a breath behind them. This scene too familiar with her wearing a shirt that didn’t fit her body. He wanted his eyes to focus on her eyes, but instead they roamed over her slightly open lips, the slowly heaving chest as she breathed, and down to the still hand that was trying to hide the fact that her lower half was nude. But his eyes wouldn’t focus.

“Wh..what are you doing here?” Her voice shook as she took a step back to retreat inside. At this point Grillby took a few steps forward, now within arm’s reach.

“I wanted to talk about… everything.”

“Now really isn’t the time…” Scarmander went to close the door in Grillby’s face but he pressed his palm against the door, holding it open. He could see her sigh as she knew he wasn’t going to leave. “Can we talk later?”

“Why? So you can ignore my phone calls and text messages again?” His voice snapped with bitterness that he still harbored from her blatant disregard of his attempts at communicating with her. Wrapping his fingers around the doors frame he pressed on, feeling her strength give way to his and the door opened a little more.

 **“How is breakfast coming?”** The voice hit Grillby almost as hard as a physical blow. The gaze escaping her, flickering to the hallway and seeing the looming skeleton. The only article of clothing the other monster wore was a simple pair of dark gray boxers. Grillby’s hands clenched as his eyes tore away from Gaster and looked again at Scarmander. That sweater… it was Gasters. He knew it but had refused to believe.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me. You fucked him too?” Grillby pointed at Gaster, completely unable to contain himself at this point.

A heavy sigh came her from as she stood there knowing there was no way to actively diffuse the situation. “Just go to the workshop… I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Grillby narrowed his eyes as he looked at her standing there, her arms crossed as she returned his glare with her own. Without another word Grillby stepped back, allowing the door to close in his face. The last thing he saw was Gaster wrapping his arms around Scarmander’s upper body, holding her a little tighter to him.


	20. Chapter 20

Worrying a path into the sawdust covered floor of the workshop, his eyes kept flickering to the door as he waited. He wasn’t one to be this anxious, and he kept looking down at his watch as if trying to urge the world to spin a little quicker. Thirty minutes passed until he saw her walk through the doors, wearing a black tank top and blue jeans.

No words were spoken as she grabbed two chairs and set them down across from one another. Sitting in one chair herself and crossing her left ankle over her right knee. It wasn’t until she motioned for him to take the opposite seat that he eased himself into the wooden chair, amazed at the comfort.

The awkward silence persisted until Scarmander took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. “I don’t know where to begin.” That seemed to be a reoccurring theme with her when the conversation was going to be heavy. Grillby pulled out his pack of smokes only to be met with a raised brow and a head shake. Hesitantly he reinserted the pack into his pocket.

Shifting her leg to the ground, she stood up and walked to the desk in the back and pulled from the top drawer a dark bottle of liquor and two tumblers. Filling them both and carrying them to him, the bottle under her arm, she assumed they would need the entire thing as they talked this out. Handing him one glass, his nose immediately recognized it as a Fijian rum, one he imported for his bar based on its quality and he knew it wasn’t cheap, it was top shelf. The bottle sat between their chairs, as an offering for the conversation.

Once again she took her seat and sipped some of the scorched caramel colored liquid. Closing her eyes as she allowed the liquid to tease her taste buds before swallowing it down. “During our previous conversation I continued to conceal a lot of things about myself. I told you about my family, a well-established line of mages that prefer selective breeding based on the souls power than any other aspect. Surely you had to have heard about the Fischer family… my true name is Lorelei Fischer.”

Grillby had heard about her family, they were some of the most dangerous mages to contend with during the war. They had been the ones to hunt down monsters that weren’t able to retreat and slaughter entire species with their skills. With his stunned silence, she continued to drink the alcohol and watched him until he finally down his own drink in two gulps before grabbing the bottle to pour himself another one.

“Unlike my family, I hold no ill-will towards monsters or else I would have killed you long ago.” She gave an impartial shrug, as if she were talking about the weather outside instead of her lineage. “I left them because I was the youngest of seven children, and the only female. Female mages are becoming exceptionally rare and they are often…” At this she paused looking down into the liquid and at her reflection.

“Auctioned off to powerful male mages to continue the line. I couldn’t bare becoming nothing more than a broodmare to these people so when I heard that the monsters had escaped from the Underground I knew Gaster could help me.” This made Grillby pause from his assault on the liquid, it being far easier to drink than to think.

“How could Gaster help?” This was the first time Grillby had spoken to her since she started talking. It seemed to startle her out of her consultation with her internal reflection.

“I know about all the monsters that existed at the time they were sealed in the Underground.” Once more she got to her feet and went to the back walls, unlocking the room where he had heard her singing, where the piano had been. Disappearing behind the large steel doors and returning with a battered tome under one arm.

Setting down the glass, she handed him the tomb with some hesitation. The leather cover had the Fischer name scrawled in calligraphy with golden colored ink. Opening the cover he marveled in the yellowing pages from their age, certainly this had to be older than even Gaster.

As his fingers traced page over page he realized that it was a book full of general monsters, their biology, their weaknesses, special moves to be aware of. Everything from generic monsters like moldsmals to boss monsters. His fingers shook as he saw certain pages had large X’s across them, the word ‘exterminated’ clearly printed.

Slowly he turned each page until he came upon one of the earlier entries that had started to fade and had been traced over to conserve the knowledge. It was a sketch of Gaster on one side and just like all the other boss monsters, a list of known information on the other. On the next page was a ‘family’ tree, Gaster having utilized several human female mages to try to create new species but every name had an X over it as well.

“The real reason the Monsters were locked underground was Gaster. The women would come back looking worse for wear, their determination greatly diminished. We got scared… it was why… but that doesn’t matter now.” There was a lot of hesitation as she spoke about Gaster and what knowledge had passed on to her. Grillby watched as her expression changed. It went from one of concern and a tinge of fear that had been trained into her since her birth to a stone expression. Her lips a straight line and her eyes holding no emotion. It sent a shiver down his spine to see her appearance change in such a dramatic way.

“Gaster utilizes existence magic. I was hoping to strike a bargain with him where I give him something of value and he would remove me from existence for a brief moment to free myself.” Playing with the curled edge of the pages with Gaster’s written abilities, he contemplated what she was saying. This entire time she had figured out another way to protect herself, to actually free herself from the shackles her lineage placed upon her without his help.

“I had no intention of actually ever staying here once everything was done. No intention of ever humoring your feelings. But then… but then…” With this his eyes went to hers as she paused. She had this faraway look on her face, allowing the words to linger but never finish.

Shaking her head, she grabbed the drink that had been forgotten near her chair and drained it. Pouring herself a new glass and draining the majority of that as well before crossing her arms again. “I miscalculated his greed. He wants to resume his… experiments.” The disgust dripped from her voice as she paced in front of Grillby.

“I thought I could reason with him and give him something else. My magic is more passive and defensive. I could find anything or anyone. I generally use music as a way to focus my magic.” Quickly he pieced together that it must be the reason for the piano in her home and why it was untouched the entire time he had been around her.

Reaching out he grabbed her empty hand, holding it firmly and causing her eyes to go towards the contact. A brief moment of… concern… registered on his stoic features. It wasn’t normal for the callous monster to care and it seemed to take her aback. Tears starting to escape from the corners of her eyes and he put down his glass as he edged himself closer to the front of the chair. His fingers caressing her cheeks, the steady sizzle coming from anywhere her tears touched his burning flesh.

“I would have given him my entire family to exterminate… I would have searched the entire globe for other mages… but I was desperate.” Her voice came out in hiccupping sobs at this point.

“What did you give him…”

“Me.”

“What do you mean… you?” Grillby could hardly speak the words. The entirety of his body sputtered and threatened to go out. It went unnoticed by Lorelei as she looked away from him. Grillby wasn’t going to have her avoiding this though and instead he reached out, grabbing her chin forcefully and making her look at him.

“Exactly as it sounds.” A heavy sigh parted her pale pink lips, her eyes gazing into his before looking away again, this time towards her hands as she picked at one of her nails. “I wanted to conceal my existence from my family, to save monsters from the concern of being locked away again, and in exchange I have to…”

That pause again. Her mind calculating exactly how to speak to him and Grillby hated it. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until every bit of concealed conversation and every truth was unearthed from her. Instead he released her jaw, setting the book on the ground, and crossed his arms across his chest.

“What of the promise I made? That we would figure out a more permanent solution?” There was a twinge of pain in his voice. Instead it was met by her still picking at her fingers as she contemplated answering his questions.

“I already had a plan in place Grillby. You just… complicated things.” Another harsh set of words and considering how calculating she was being Grillby could tell she was pushing him away as hard as she could. It wasn’t like she hadn’t complicated his life either, he hadn’t felt this many emotions since he was a baby flame, before harsh reality set in and caused him to realize emotions were a weakness in the Underground.

Getting to his feet, he wrapped his arms around her. At this point he knew he couldn’t fix it. Gaster was much more powerful than he was and any fight between them would leave Grillby damaged or dead. There was no reasoning either, no doubt Gaster already figured out how powerful she was and requested a substitute would be out of the question.

“We wanted different things anyway,” her voice was a quiet mumble into his chest. He could feel her fingers start picking at another nail, her hands pressed against his lower abs.

“What do you mean by that? We both wanted you safe.” _Us together_. He thought to himself but couldn’t bring himself to say, knowing it would be one more knife she could sharpen and dig back into him.

There was a pull as she tried to step back but realized that Grillby wasn’t going to release her. “I wanted a family after everything was done. Let’s face it Grillby you are rather renown for being a playboy and not wanting that kind of life style.”

“I could have changed…” The words escaped before he could stop them. Both of them were frozen there, time passing steadily around them but seemingly never touching the two.

“Could have… but wouldn’t.”

The words cut in more than one way. Her complete lack in faith in him wasn’t misplaced. Had he not proved that by not coming back after leaving last time, instead bedding those other two women? Slowly his arms released her, dragging down her sides and falling to his.

“Not that it matters anyways. You won’t remember anything. Not this. Not me. Everything that happened between us will be replaced with false memories.” A shaky breath came from her. If that were the case why was she hiding so much from him? Why was she working so hard on pushing him away?

“As soon as your bar is finished and the deal with Gaster is sealed…” That would be it. She would be gone from his life completely.

Grillby couldn’t handle all this. The emotional cuts bleeding him slowly in his soul as he stood there looking down at her. If only she had seen how his level of HoPe went down she would understand just how deep she was cutting. He couldn’t stop her though. This was something she had made up her mind to do.

“…Fine…” he breathed out before stuffing his hands into his pockets. Without looking at her or saying another word he walked towards the door. There was no point in pressing her for answers he would never get, or remember if what she was saying was the truth. Upon passing the doors he tried to close this chapter of his life with a heavy thud of steel on steel.


	21. Chapter 21

“You are a glutton for punishment aren’t you?”

Grillby stood in front of Scarmander the following day at her home. Watching her heave a heavy sigh as she spoke these words to him. Glutton for punishment… perhaps he was. If poison tasted this sweet he would happily drink the entire bottle.

“Come on inside…” She stood off to the side, opening the door enough and allowing him to pass through. Despite having been in her home before it seemed a little different. The lightning was different, there was a large map of the United States that lay across the top of the piano with four flags in various locations.

Shutting the door behind him, she immediately walked into the kitchen to get him something to drink. Running her fingers over the touchpad of the wine cellar. “The usual?”

Grillby almost scoffed at this. How ironic that a bartender hear those words. “Yes, please.” He pulled off his jacket, laying it across the arm rest of the couch before going to the piano and looking more closely at the flags. Each of them had a name written in black pen on them. As his eyes roamed over them he realized there were six flags in total just two weren’t placed yet, all of them had men’s names on them.

A soft tap on his shoulder broke his concentration. Looking down into her hazel eyes, she held out a glass of wine to him with an apathetic smile on her face. Despite her looking so lively yesterday she looked exhausted right now. Reaching out, instead of taking the glass of wine he allowed his hand to caress her cheek, his fingers running along the dark circles and wondering how she could look so tired so quickly.

“Using magic takes a lot out of me. Humans can’t recover as quickly as monsters.” A soft chuckle parted her lips as she set his glass on the top of the piano and seemed to lean into his hand. Her eyes closing as his fingers traced across the tender skin once more. After a few moments he moved his hand away from her cheek and took the glass from the piano.

“Who were you trying to find?” Waving a hand to the markers, he assumed it had to be these men.

“They are my brothers. I do this once a month to make sure they aren’t coming f… here.” Her voice was soft as she quickly changed the end of her sentence and looked at the map. “None of them have left their current locations in several months though. It’s… a good and bad sign.”

Something about how she wrapped one arm across the front of her, grabbing her elbow of the other arm made Grillby realize that she didn’t want to talk about this any longer. Considering how much they had talked about uncomfortable subjects, he didn’t really want to push her. Instead he walked towards the keys while taking a sip of wine, realizing her following behind him.

“Can you only find people?” Grillby had been curious about her magic for a while. Female mages were indeed rare and their magic capabilities had a large range. Obviously she was no different, from the defensive barrier she had put up around her soul, to admitting she could create a shield to again seal the monsters underground… now this. Thanks to selective breeding her magic didn’t confine itself to one talent but allowed it to flourish.

“No… I can find things and solutions too.” Running a finger over a key, she debated sitting down but was absolutely exhausted. Her other two brothers were less of a concern, they hadn’t moved since she started tracking them.

 _Could you find a different way to save yourself?_ Grillby wanted to ask. The words danced across his tongue, threatening to spill out if he opened his mouth. Instead he pressed the glass of wine to his lips and took another sip. Perhaps this had been how she had found Gaster to begin with, knew that they would eventually bump paths one way or another. The thought brought a shiver down his spine and circling the piano he went to the couch and sat down.

“Is there something I can find for you?” Even if Grillby wanted to take advantage of it, the look in her eyes probably reflected how tired her soul was currently. Instead he shook his head and patted the couch next to him. Letting lose a yawn, she walked over to the couch and sat down on the opposite end.

“Why are you here Grillby?” The elephant in the room was no longer going to be ignored. Honestly Grillby had spent the majority of the previous night fucking the lights out of some random human to try to get out his aggression. It hadn’t worked.

Setting down the glass it was his turn to sigh heavily. There was a lot on his mind. A lot of her on his mind specifically and he wondered when it had turned this way. How she smiled at him, the sound of her voice as they talked about senseless things while she worked on the furniture, the feel of her body under his fingers… it was so much. There was a human word for it but he refused to think about it.

“Even if it means I’ll forget eventually… I don’t want to live now thinking what…” God it wasn’t coming out right. The once smooth conversationalist was now stumbling over his words like a baby giraffe taking its first steps. “I want…” what did he want. Her. God he wanted her in so many ways but hadn’t she already told him she wouldn’t return his feelings? Why was he here? So she could reject him more thoroughly?

Feeling the cushions shift near him, he saw that she was closer to him. There was a sad look in her eyes as she contemplated what to say next. “Grillby…” The tone she said his name was like that which he had said dozens of women’s names before. That soft tone, a gentle rejection. “Your reputation doesn’t exactly hold any promise for what you want. On top of that everyone knows you don’t want a family. How would you even protect us if the mages really did come?”

Us. The word had slipped between her lips before she could stop it. Perhaps she was too tired to care to filter as carefully as she normally did. Grillby had noticed that a lot of times she calculated conversation before engaging in it. Unless she was angry of course.

“I can change… I can try…” Empty promises. He could feel the hollowness of the words as soon as they left his lips. The soft pleading that often came when the rejection really was about a fault. “Let me try.”

A gap expanded in their conversation as she sat there, picking at one of her fingernails and thinking to herself. Grillby debated getting up and leaving, knowing there was no point in pushing her. There was something holding him there… hope. Just a soft brush of it that grew as she continued to contemplate. It wasn’t an immediate no.

“Under a few conditions…” just before she started to list them there was a shattering of glass on the rug as the wine glass that had been in his hand dropped. Her hands were engulfed in the flames of his hands as he held them, cupping them and refusing to release.

Before he even hear her demands. Before he could even stop himself a single word burst out “…Anything.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG this is such a long chapter... I just couldn't stop though.

**Three Days**

Scarmander lay on the couch with her head in Grillby’s lap, she used his lap to prop up her head and was reading a book while he was reading a newspaper article. It was a lazy morning and their empty cups of tea sat on their saucers on the coffee table. Normally Grillby didn’t do the… domestic thing but to try to convince Scarmander he would have happily done just about anything.

“Hey Grillby?” She looked up at him, a smile on her lips as she put the book down across her chest. Folding the newspaper he tossed it onto the coffee table before looking down at her. Reaching down and running his lavender flamed hands through her traditionally flame coloured locks.

“Yes?” His voice was gentle as he applied gentle pressure and massaged her scalp with his fingers.

“I think I have an idea for the bar… but…” her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes and released a soft moan from his circular motions.

“But?” Applying a bit more pressure, he allowed his fingers to circle her temples to ease some of the lines that had been threatening to form there.

“Could you tell me stories about your other bar? What did you like it about it? Any memorable patrons?” Her voice trailed off as his movements slowed to a stop and his entire body tensed. He was curious as to her intentions but just as he went to open his mouth to question why a sigh came from between her lips. Obviously she had felt the tension and decided that the questions were probably not the best. “Nevermind…” was all she could say to try to disrupt the tension.

“There is this one skeleton monster with an obsession with mustard… it’s disgusting really.” His voice softened as he thought about the jokes and pranks the sweaty skeleton would sometimes play. “He likes to make a lot of science puns… periodically.”

At first the laugh was soft, causing her to put a hand to her lips as she tried to hide her smile. It soon erupted into a more belly filled laugh and Grillby couldn’t help but smile as she took in the joke. Tears coming to her eyes and a soft snort coming out as she gasped for breath.

“I… I didn’t think you… would say something like that.” Another snort as she wiped the tears from her eyes and he leaned down the best he could, using one hand to lift her head up and planting a kiss on her forehead.

“To hear you laugh like that… maybe I will need to ask Sans for more.” With that he made a mental note to actually do just that.

**Two weeks and 4 days**

Grillby came home after a long day at the restaurant. The drive back to her home was long enough to clear his mind and make him willing to try to continue the ‘domestic’ living situation that he had put himself on. Turning off his car he heard strange EDM bass beats pounding her windows and threatening to break them out. All of the lights were on.

Putting his key into the lock, he opened the door and found her standing there in a pair of boy short style underwear and a t-shirt. Swaying to the music with her back to him as she held a broom in her hands and was sweeping the living room. It was interesting listening to her sing along to “Make it Bun Dem After Hours” by Skrillex & Damian Marley. Only reason he knew of the song was because Mettaton had recently done a radio show regarding human music styles and played Skrillex on there.

EDM was not something he thought she would ever be interested in but he watched as she bobbed along with the music. Her hips swaying in a rather seductive way as she performed household chores. Obviously she hadn’t heard him since the music was blasting, it wasn’t until she turned around to sweep and saw Grillby standing there that she dropped the broom and quickly grabbed the remote, turning off the music.

“Umm…” There were no words she could say as she scratched the back of her head. The flush and embarrassed look made her look like she was caught doing something wrong.

Chuckling he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He would be lying if how she had been dancing hadn’t turned him on. Apparently humans considered a lot of ‘grinding’ against each other to be “dancing” in club settings.

“Let’s worry about those pesky chores after we make this place worthy of cleaning…” he purred into her ear as he pressed his lower body closer to hers and made her put two and two together herself. Instead of an answer from her there was that ongoing blush and a nod, that being all he needed before he started his barrage of kisses on her neck to get her more in the mood, leading her back to the couch and having her lay down.

**Two months, three weeks, one day**

Scarmander walked with her arm in Grillby’s leading him over to the workshop but for once he was blindfolded. Deep down he hated surprises but she promised him that today would be different. Hearing the metal doors scrape along their tracks before feeling her tug him into the space and took a deep breath.

“Can you bend down a little?” She was now standing in front of him and he obliged. Feeling her arms wrap around his neck as she untied the handkerchief she was using as a blindfold and stepping away.

Allowing his eyes to adjust to the harsh florescent lighting he gazed upon something that would have bought him a lot of joy three months ago. It was the bar, built… but it didn’t seem completely finished. Instead he took a step closer and looked at the detail along the edge of the front of the bar, each of the monsters in the underground had been hand carved into the surface. There were six larger panels on the front, inset, but only the one in the centre had been carved into. It was a depiction of his previous bar, as he had described to her but he was surprised at how close she had gotten it.

“Sans helped me…” she was standing next to him with her hands on her hips looking at her work. “Obviously it isn’t done. I still need to carve the other five panels but I figured I should show you why it was taking me so long.”

“It’s… amazing…” Grillby breathed as he ran his fingers over the depiction of some of the monsters, the dog pack all there together. The entire length of the bar was etched that way, every monster accounted for and even some monsters he had never seen before. He realized she had added the ones from the book that had been deemed ‘extinct’.

A lot of research had to go into creating something like this, every monster was in scale to the others. That was when he realized something, she had finished the bar almost two months ago and had done this to extend the deadline. All the other furniture had already been delivered to the bar. Perhaps she was trying to do the same thing he was… prolonging the inevitable.

“Do you have ideas for the other five panels?” His eyes went to her as he looked over the first one.

“No… I was hoping to be able to talk to you and hear some more stories. I haven’t been… inspired yet.” There was a sigh of relief that Grillby couldn’t help but release from her words. Perhaps being the elusive monster he was had saved him this time around.

“Let’s go inside and crack a bottle of wine and I’ll… I’ll see what I can drum up.” He thought to himself as he watched a flicker of emotion come across her face before it was quickly replaced by a smile. Was that sadness?

“Yeah… let’s.”

**Four months, One week, six days**

Sunday morning Scarmander came stumbling into the house with her skates slung over her shoulder. Grillby was sitting on the couch and watched as she dropped the skates and her bag near the door before pulling off her jacket and exposing a nasty bruise on her left arm. Dropping the jacket in the same pile before walking back to the bathroom without saying a single word to Grillby. Obviously the jam hadn’t gone well.

Folding the paper, he placed it on the coffee table before following her back to the bathroom. He watched from the door as she turned on the hot water and plugged the drain to allow the bath to fill. Not once did she look up at him or acknowledge him, he had learned last time that it was best to just let her be when her team lost but at the same time he hadn’t seen her all day yesterday and craved at least being close by.

Dumping an entire box of Epsom salts into the bath before tossing the box near the garbage she let out a whimper before working her clothing off. Normally she wasn’t this tender, there was more than just the bruise on her left arm though, and it also came down her entire rib cage to her hip.

Looking in the mirror she tenderly touched the bruise and let out a soft hiss in discomfort. Grillby wished she would just let him heal her, he hated seeing her like this and generally it only happened when the opposing team had souls of Wrath. Perhaps he would just do like he normally did and speed the healing process when she was asleep, she always seemed to account it towards the medication she took or the bath she was in.

“Scar…” he finally whispered as her fingers fumbled with the button of her pants. There was a brief moment he wished he hadn’t said anything as she tossed a glowering look up at him. “That… that can’t be comfortable. Let me heal you… please.” The pleading tone had her glower falter to a look of confusion.

“After my bath…” she mumbled and Grillby nodded his head before retreating and allowing her to enjoy the bath she had already drawn for herself.

Once she was out of the bath he convinced her to join him in the bedroom. Tenderly she slipped onto the bed and let a grimace contort her features as she moved. Having her lay on her stomach, her arms rested by her sides and her face cradled between pillows, Grillby allowed his eyes to roam over her naked body and observed the many scars that caused pink lines across her pale flesh, and the dark bruises that had been caused the prior day that she probably never complained about to the others.

Going to the bedside table he pulled out the massage oil he had brought from his apartment. It was special, appearing like a solid ball unless it was melted by his hands. The magic imbued within didn’t cause his fire to flicker like normal human massage oils did.

Straddling her waist, he allowed some of the oil to coat his hands before he set the ball down and rubbed his hands together. Already he could feel her body tense, worried about the pain that would come from even the gentlest of touch. Still Grillby allowed just his fingertips to touch the wounded side and pushed his healing magic out from the slight contact.

Already he could tell that a couple of her ribs were cracked from what had happened. He could hear her whimper and wiggle under his touch as she tried to retreat from the healing magic soaking through her flesh. He couldn’t help but admire how her flesh turned a soft purple colour from his magic and slowly the bruise decreased in size.

Only when he was sure that the ribs were no longer damaged did he apply some pressure with his entire hand against her side to allow the greater amount of contact to heal her. It wasn’t long before the bruise was completely gone and she stopped trying to wiggle out from his grasp. At this point he started to work along her back, allowing his hands to trail down either side of her spine before coming up and running along one side. Cupping hands of flesh as he worked the tension from her body.

Slowly he felt her relax under his touch. Him working one side of her back and then the other before working her arms and taking care of the bruise on her left side. The healing magic working not just against the bruises and physical damaged but also relieving her muscles from having to lean over in certain positions every day.

Working his fingers against her flesh he enjoyed how she was moan and arch into some of his movements. “Deeper…” she would whimper at times… “again… right there…” it was extremely sensual and soon his magic started to cause more problems as his body craved her begging in a more sensual way.

Slowly his hand worked south, caressing over her buttocks and running one hand between her legs. Immediately she responded by spreading her legs and letting out a soft pleased whimper. He could feel her body trying to move to be more receptive but he had her pinned down currently with his legs on either side of her.

Leaning over her body he allowed his lips to plant soft kisses along her shoulder blades and down the centre of her spine. At times she would giggle and try to push her belly into the mattress and further away from his lips but he would just follow her. It was tender, sweet, and he enjoyed making her laugh and smile.

Lately his mind had been getting the best of him, the monster so against ever having children would have flickering dreams of her and him having a family. Hand in hand, with two children playing as they admired the life they had together. Even the idea of her getting fat with his child made his cock twitch. Problem was he was in heat, it was a natural occurrence for every monster and was specific towards breeding. Even though he didn’t want children his body would frequently contradict him and try to plant a different idea in his mind.

Shaking the thought from his head he slowly got off of her and allowed her to roll onto her back. Spreading her legs and allowing his fingers to trail across her damp opening. If just the massage was enough to bring this kind of reaction from her perhaps he would need to do it more often.

Positioning his hips at her opening, he allowed the tip to trail across the slick opening. Closing his eyes as he pushed his magic down to keep himself from burning her, it was a ritual he had to do almost every time since she made him so damn hot. Slowly he slipped just the head in before allowing the full length of his shaft to part her hidden secret. Leaning down he kissed her neck, allowing his face to bury itself in her recently washed flesh.

Just as he entered the final distance he felt arms wrap around his neck and forced him to lay down on top of her. Her chest pressed to his as her back pushed into the mattress and allowed her hips to move just a little more to welcome him. It was a slow rocking pace to begin with, allowing his tongue to play across her neck and collar bone as he enjoyed the feeling of her damp coolness around his flaming rod.

For a moment he felt a spark between them. It fuelled him with determination that he didn’t normally have. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she rolled them over and started to grind against his hips, forcing the tip of cock to rub the inner walls. It caused a feral growl to erupt from his chest and she responded with her own purr as she nipped at the flames that made his chest.

That determination fuelled him as he pushed her off. Watching her land between his legs and grabbing her hips as he kneeled. Pulling her close on her hands and knees before one more burying himself into her. Leaning over and biting into the flesh of her shoulder as he pounded into her. This was what she liked, feeling helpless and completely dominated. Her face pushed into the covers or a pillow as she grabbed beside her head.

“More…” she would groan as he would hilt himself into her. The roughness of it all causing tears to come to her eyes from the overstimulation he caused her. Part of him really liked seeing her like this, completely undone, this almighty powerful mage under his hand pressing her neck down. Under his body.

The thoughts were more than enough and he pushed himself deep into her as he filled her with his warm seed. His other hand tracing down the front of her stomach before playing with the tender nub to make her own orgasm come to fruition at his hands. It normally didn’t take long, he knew just the right amount of pressure to apply and the slow circles alternated with a quickened pace always got her.

Just like always he felt her body pulse around his still hard cock as she came. Her pleads for him to stop muffled by the sheets that pressed against her lips. Only until she was done quaking under him did he pull out with a satisfied grunt and plopped down on the bed, pulling her close and closing his eyes as he basked in the afterglow.

That wouldn’t be the last time that evening that he would ravage her body.

**Five months, zero weeks, two days**

Grillby walked into the kitchen to find her pulling an orange ice cube from the freezer and popping it into her mouth. He quirked a brow as she turned and looked at him before quickly looking away. That was an odd reaction, and when did they have orange ice cubes?

“You okay?” Grillby wondered as he walked over to her and tried to put a hand on her forehead to see if maybe she was running a fever. Perhaps he had made her too warm last night again, it hadn’t been the first time and he had caught her sucking on ice cubes afterwards. Still they had never been flavoured.

Shoving the ice cube in one cheek, she swallowed before nodding her head. “Yeah I’m fine… think I’m just coming down with something. Haven’t been feeling well this week.”

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” Grillby wasn’t completely familiar with human’s illnesses and didn’t want her to think something that was serious wasn’t, she tended to have a nasty habit of downplaying her own problems.

“No. I think it will pass. I’ll just give it a few more days and then I’ll go see a doctor.” There was something about how she said everything that made Grillby suspicious but at the same time he didn’t want to press.

“Okay… if you say so. I need to go to work tonight.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead before walking to the door. “Why don’t you get some rest instead of working tonight? I’ll try to get off work early.” With a wave, he left and went off to cover the shift at the restaurant since the bartender he had hired had called in earlier with a family emergency.

“Yeah… later Grillby…” was all he had heard as he had left. The hesitation and uncertainty that had painted her tone with those three words as he departed.

That night Grillby did leave the bar early. He came back to the place he finally considered ‘home’ and when noticing Scarmander was nowhere to be found he tried calling her. He tried calling her friends. But nobody answered… and she never came home.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm... my shortest chapter to date...

Grillby spent days at Scarmander’s home wondering if maybe she just left to deal with something and didn’t have her cell phone with her. Staring at the screen of his own, his fingers rubbed over the send button anxiously but there were already dozens of unanswered calls he had logged to her. Her friends hadn’t been much of a help either, none of them seemed to know where she went and she wasn’t showing up to practices.

There was one monster that probably did know where she disappeared to but Grillby was avoiding the possibility since he had figured if he could make her happy enough maybe… just maybe…

But he knew he was wrong.

He knew where she went.

Gaster.

Getting to his feet he gathered up the items he had moved into her home during their short almost five months of living together. Standing in the bathroom, his fingers grasped the base of the sink as he thought about everything he had done, everything he had changed to make her happy. To try to make this work.

It hadn’t matter.

She still left.

To Gaster.

Anger boiled within him as his fingers grasped the porcelain. Looking into the mirror he couldn’t believe how much of a damned fool he was going to be. Letting out a howl in frustration the basin cracked under his grip, allowing a thick jagged crack to span from each hand to the drain. Deep down he wanted to destroy her entire place, he could… it wasn’t like she was going to come back here. Instead he grabbed the duffle bag he had hastily tossed everything into and decided that this wasn’t going to end this way. No matter if Gaster was a dangerous boss monster or not Grillby couldn’t allow this to happen without a fight.

Tossing the bag into the passenger seat he gunned the engine to his Audi and peeled out of her driveway. The dust trailing behind his vehicle as he took the back roads too quickly. If she had gone anywhere chances were she had gone to Gasters apartment in the city.

Just as the landscape changed from the peaceful scenery of the country to that of the major city it happened.

“What was… I doing?” Grillby took his foot off the gas pedal and allowed the car to slow to a more acceptable speed. Where was he going again? Looking to the bag in his passenger seat he remembered spending the night at Calcifers home as he was finishing up the bar. It would be delivered the following day to Grillby’s new location and later this month he would be able to open the bar and greet the patrons.

The strange feeling of confusion didn’t go away as he pulled into his parking spot for the apartments he stayed in. Grabbing the bag and making his way up to the bedroom before dumping it next to the door and going to the bedroom to get some rest. For some reason he was exhausted and couldn’t explain why.

Removing his clothing he grabbed his cell phone and laid down in bed, rummaging through the contacts in his phone to see if someone might peak his interest for the night. No one did, instead he tossed the phone onto the charging stand, watching the screen light up to indicate it was charging. Placing one arm across his eyes and allowing the darkness to seep into him and slowly change to the sweet embrace of sleep.

\----------

Grillby stood there staring at a shadow of someone with their back to him. They seemed like they were walking away, leaving him. Deep down he felt an insurmountable fear that they were going to be gone forever.

Every step he pressed forward in the dark void space was like sludge. The sucking sensation around his ankles as he had to pull himself free of every step. The next step would just make him sink even deeper.

Opening his mouth he called out for them to stop… to help…

But nobody came.

The void continued to consume him, dragging him deeper down as it morphed from an undescriptive blob he had been trying to trudge through to having hands. Women’s hands, many of them gaining colour and form as they grasped at his clothing and body trying to draw him deeper into the darkness. He could recognize some of the hands as his more frequent lovers, instead he reached out an arm to the form that had stopped at just the edge of his vision.

Calling out again he begged them to return…

But nobody came.

\-----------

Gasping for breath Grillby sat up in his bed and tossed the covers off of him. His soul was pounding in his chest. Putting his feet on the ground, he tentatively stood up and only when he realized he wasn’t going to sink into the nothingness that had consumed his nightmare did he sit back on the bed and place a hand over his soul.

Never in Grillby’s entire life had he experienced a nightmare so terrifying… yet every time he tried to recall the details it seemed to drift further and further away from him. Eventually he gave up on sleep or trying to recall anything and instead dressed himself and decided to go into the restaurant for the evening. Perhaps being around others and picking someone else would make him feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess about here you could say "the end" but honestly I have more chapters and two different endings for this story so it will continue on. Never promised a happy ending here... but there will be that option for people that aren't anti-romance.


	24. Chapter 24

Grillby’s fingers wrapped around the edge of the bar top as his head leaned back, his buttocks pressing against the lip. It had only been fifteen minutes after the last patron left and the waitress he had hired for his new location was on her knees in front of him. Normally he wouldn’t have considered hiring a human in the monster part of town but he was rather impressed with her… servicing… abilities.

Releasing the bar top he placed one hand on the back of her head as she continued to bob on his hard shaft. His head tilted back and eyes closed as he felt the warmth and moisture from her mouth around him. The tough muscle running along the underside of his manhood as her cheeks sucked in slightly, her lips pulling across the shaft and coming off with a satisfying pop.

Looking down at her he watched as her eyes flickered for a moment, briefly distracted by something under the bar before they went back to him. It was enough to make his brows crease and eyes narrow as a thought flashed into his mind wondering why she was distracted… that was until she cupped his balls with one hand, the other wrapping around the shaft and stroking while licking and suckling on the tip.

His fingers curled in her hair as he tried to push her further down, he desperately wanted to feel the back of her throat against the hot head before he blew his load. Letting out a groan, she seemed to get the message he was close and removed her hands from their ministrations on his body and went to grab his hips. This was his favorite moment with her, when she got up slightly on her knees and pushed her face down along his shaft until her nose came flush with his pelvis. It was then that he grabbed the back of her head with both hands and held her there as he released with a moan, leaning over her slightly as he felt her throat constrict from swallowing and gagging. Only when he was completely satisfied did he release her head and watch as she pulled back, gasping for air with a combination of spit and cum running down her chin.

Straightening himself up, he shifted himself back into his trousers before zipping them up. She had stood up, using the bar as a way to steady herself before wiping her chin with a napkin and straightening her attire. Already he was back to wiping down tables and gathering the last of the dishes she had ignored earlier.

“Are you actually going to come over tonight?” Her high pitched tone called out, slightly hoarse from having shoved a dick down her throat moments before.

Grillby paused from wiping down a table. The thought had struck him, to actually take her up on her advances for once but her voice annoyed him. Perhaps if he brought a gag it wouldn’t be that bad… “I need to finish up here first.”

“You always say that…” was her disappointed reply before she went to the back office to grab her jacket and head out. She knew he would finish everything without her help, it was the kind of work relationship they had. Returning to the front of the bar to exit out the front door she stopped as her fingers touched the handle. “You know someone vandalized your bar right?”

The sound of clattering dishes as the bus tub hit the ground made her jump. Never had she seen the normally calm monster lose his cool. “What?” His voice was a deep growl as he ignored the scattered silverware that had bounced out and stormed to the bar. Of all the pieces of furniture to mess with… the flame monsters bar was not something that patrons dared to even put a drink on without a coaster.

“Yeah, it’s in the way back… kinda weird… it glows too.” Her voice trailed as she thought about it before shrugging and pushing open the door, disappearing into the night air.

Grillby knelt down next to the bar, pulling the glasses out and setting them on top as his eyes caught the subtle glow in the back. How had he not noticed this before? Was it recent? Pushing the final glass on the shelf to the side, his eyes focused on the strange glittering gold and silver writing.

“Find… me?” He tilted his head as he tried to read the words. They were in very beautiful calligraphy, it was obvious that it hadn’t been just etched in there recently. No, this had to be from when it was built.

Reaching forward he watched as the paint the words were written in seemed to dip towards his fingers. Curling like smoke around the lavender flames as he watched the words still etched in the wood grew dark. The gold and silver danced between his fingertips. _What curious magic_ , he thought before the magic seemed to latch on to his hand.

At that moment Grillby let out a howl in pain, it felt like his entire body had been engulfed in water. Jerking his hand away he tried to shake the magic off of his hand but it continued to cling. Every time he blinked there was a blinding white light, the intense pain causing him to fall to his knees and grab the back of his head. The bright light flickering to other colors, the color of flames, a white smile, soft pale lips… it was agonizing, as if his mind was being split open. Within a few minutes of touching the magic… Grillby passed out.


	25. Chapter 25

The sound of humming filled his ears as he had his eyes closed. It was a soft tune, a gentle waltz as fingers traced through his locks. His head was on a pillow, nestled on someone’s warm lap as his body laid out on a couch. The humming sounded so familiar.

“What is your favorite memory of coming to the surface?” Her voice was soft, deeper than most women’s but it was strangely attractive.

There were so many memories he had, of opening his restaurant and more recently the bar. Of that first day when he stood on edge of the mountain cave and looked out at the sunrise. There was one memory though that was by his favorite. “The day you were standing outside the bar, how you smiled and waved at me.”

The petting stopped and he opened his eyes, hazel ones looking down at him as a blush crept across her face. He could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest but instead she just smiled, her lips parting to show those perfect pearls. “Come on now… really that can’t be it.”

Instead of arguing, his hand came up and touched her cheek. It was a soft affirmative movement that made her nuzzle her face into his hand, eyes closing as she did so. It was his favorite moment. Or when he had kissed her, her kissing him back. Or all the nights when she lay in bed next to him, his fingers trailing across the delicate flesh and leaving goose bumps from the rush of cold that followed his heat. There were thousands of memories he had… but all his favorites had her in them.

“What about yours? What is your favorite?” His hand came down to rest on his abs, watching as her head tried to follow but eventually conceded the warmth.

There was a thoughtful look on her face as she sat there, her lips pursed as she looked up and to the left as if accessing those vast memory banks. A soft blush coming across her cheeks as she tried to pinpoint a single moment. “When you…” The sound of static took over.

“ **GRILLBY!** ” her mouth was moving but they weren’t forming his name.

“ **Come on Grillby! Wake up!** ” No… the voice was all wrong. The voice calling to him was deeper. More masculine.

“ **Grillby! Come on man!”** The voice was urgent as he felt his body being shook. No… no… he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to lose her again. He just had her back!

A gasp pulled from his chest as his eyes opened. Sans was over him, the red eye flickering in anxiety and sweat running down his porous skull. There was light coming in through the windows and Grillby blinked slowly. How long had he been out? The throbbing in his head would normally have indicated he drank but this time there were no empty liquor bottles to accompany pounding.

“ **thank stars… i’ve been trying to get you awake for the last couple hours.”** Sans looked extremely nervous, more so than what the situation warranted. Everything came flooding back, his memories of her. Grabbing his forehead, he let out a groan and closed his eyes.

“Sans… where is she?” His voice was soft as he lay on the ground behind the bar. No one else was in yet, Sans must have come in for lunch like normal and noticed the open sign wasn’t flashing.

The skeleton monster seemed to tense up and looked away from Grillby. “ **the waitress? she ain’t working today.”**

“No… not her…” slowly he sat up, his back pressed against the closed liquor cabinet. Rubbing the skin above the bridge of his nose before opened the dark blue eyes and looking at Sans. Phalanges were nervously rubbing together as he picked at his bones, trying to avoid the flame monsters questions. He knew. This little bastard knew.

Right as he opened his mouth to confront Sans is when all the emotions associated with his memories grabbed him. Grillby released a choked gasp as his right hand grasped over his soul. Gods it was so painful. All the happiness, anger, sadness… everything he ever felt when he was near her or thought of her grabbed at him at once. It made his flames flicker as he tried to battle the unseen enemy.

Sans had bitched a long time ago about the resets and what it felt like to regain the memories but he never knew it was this painful. Gasping, he tried to get to his feet, not wanting to be vulnerable in front of the other monster but not being able to get away either. Every time he almost got to his feet he fell to a knee again.

Slowly the emotions ebbed, still being there but settling like old company instead of the vicious assault they had laid on him. Only one emotion bubbled up, his flames responding to his anger as they grew and shot towards the ceiling. The darkness swirling into the normal calm lavender appearance causing Sans to hide behind the bar.

She had left him. He had done everything right. He came home to her. Home… her home… their home. On top of that she had been acting so weird right before she left. She had erased herself from existence with the help of… of… Gaster.

Panting, Grillby got to his feet and staggered around the bar to find the mustard loving pun-master cowering. “Where is she Sans… where are they…” The anger in his eyes and his body caused the monster to shake, the bones rattling against one another.

“ **u…un… underground…”** he stammered worse than Alphys at this moment but honestly no one had ever seen Grillby this angry before. **“in…in his labs…”**

Grabbing the cranial of the skeleton monster there was a steady hiss as Grillby’s flames vaporized the red sweat dotting the skull. “Take me there…” as soon as the command was finished there was the feeling of nothingness before the sweltering heat of Hotland. Magic crackling in the air and clinging to Grillby as Sans finished the shortcut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone it's coming close to the end... can you feel it?
> 
> At this point there will be two pathways to go down. Think of it as a "choose your own adventure" kinda thing. I will be posting them both when I can (probably at the end of the month).


End file.
